Now and for Always
by ElvesAreEpic
Summary: Legolas, Aragorn, and the twins have always known that all plans, even the best thought out ones, have a tendency to go wrong. But when they set out together to hunt orcs, little did they just how awry their trip was going to go. The hunters have become the hunted, and with one of them seriously wounded it is only a matter of time before things go from bad to worse.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N You guys are all amazing people! Don't let anyone tell you differently. :)**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Now and for Always

Chapter One

Legolas slowly pushed past a large branch and gently eased it back into place so that his passing was of no more notice then that of a bird's. A red sky, colored by the descending sun, shown through the branches and the elf spared her a glance, before sliding into the shadows of nearby tree. With the gracefulness bestowed to the elves, he moved across the forested land until he came to a boulder the size of a small horse. Edging around it, he smirked and melted back to become one with it's shadow.

Stopping, Legolas crouched low and unsung his treasured bow from his back, holding it firmly as he guided two arrows free from his quiver. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, stilling his rapidly beating heart. His grip on the bow tightened and he waited.

The day continued to darken as night crept ever closer, but still the elf did not move. Not far off to the west came the soft song of a whippoorwill and Legolas smiled grimly, opening his eyes. Rocking forward on his heels, the elf pulled the string tight on his bow, knocking an arrow as he did so.

…A _ny minute now…_

A sharp battle cry rang clear through the night and Legolas leapt upright, his eyes narrowing as he aimed. He couldn't resist the wicked smile that spread across his face as he heard the startled shouts of terror coming from down below as Aragorn, who had been nearest to the orcs, leapt out of the foliage with his sword already swinging.

The large group of orcs who were camped in the rocky valley below began to scatter in a panic, realizing too late that enemies had crept into their ranks. Fear ruled them.

He let go of his arrow but didn't bother to watch it sail through the air and impale itself in a running orc's back. Pulling another arrow free, Legolas began to make his path down the side mountain. His higher position offered no small advantage and the orcs fell under his arrows without mercy and he had a clear view of the further chaos Elladan and Elrohir caused as they appeared on opposite sides of the clearing.

The orc who appeared to in charge managed to gather some orcs into order, but before he could do much else, an arrow form Legolas caused him to topple over, crushing a smaller orc in the process. This destroyed any sort of order among the dark foes and Aragorn raised his sword to the elf above him in quick salute, before slicing an orc through.

Firing off more arrows in quick secession as he inched down the hill, Legolas reached an overhanging edge and shoulder his bow. Swiftly drawing his twin white knives, he vaulted off a rock and into the fray of orcs. Landing in crouched position he reared up, slashing an orc that was running towards him through the stomach. Twirling away, Legolas caught a scimitar that was aimed for his neck between his crossed knives and the screech of metal on metal filled the air. Thrusting his knifes forward, he pulled free and jabbed the orc through the chest.

It fell with cry, but Legolas was already whirling around and catching another orc unawares. Its head hit the ground with a soft thud. Spinning, the prince hefted one of his knives and threw it so that it landed in the middle of an orc. With his other knife, he deflected a dagger that a charging orc was aiming for his heart and roughly kicked the orc back. Leaping forward, he retrieved his other knife from the fallen orc.

He sensed a presence looming behind him and spun around, bringing up one knife while twisting the other lower. His blow was easily blocked, however, as he came face to face with Aragorn. Nodding at each other, they both turned, placing their back against each other and standing their ground. The orcs would come to them, they were all brawn and no brains.

Dancing forward, Legolas impaled an orc while Aragorn sliced another in half. As he did so, the elf caught a flash of one of the twins with his sword through the chest of an orc.

"Are you ready to ditch just yet, or are you able to keep up with the 'slow' human?" Aragorn teased between gasps of air as they came to a momentary loll.

"Hardly!" Legolas shot back, not winded like his human companion, as he twirled his black stained knives. He bent low to meet an oncoming orc.

"Good. Because-" Aragorn started a few minutes later after they had both dispatched a few more orcs, but cut off his next words as he was forced to jump clumsily aside to avoid an arrow that lodged, quivering, in the dirt. "Archer!" he yelled, alerting his brothers and friend to watch from the skies as well.

"Leave him to me," Legolas insisted, sheathing his knives with a flick and kicking out at an orc that was getting to close for comfort as he drew his bow.

Aragorn dived forward, striking an orc through the stomach and kicking it away, before bracing his feet and raising his arms so that his sword was in battle position. He nodded curtly at his friend, signifying that he was ready. This was a strategy that the two friends had employed many times; Aragorn guarded the elf while Legolas picked off orcs. It worked well and had saved their lives more than once.

Legolas drew an arrow and knocked it easily, pulling his arm back until his bow string was taunt. Sighting down the wooden shaft, he released. It struck an orc that was fighting one of the twins and Legolas cast his eyes about for the orc archer whom he was supposed to be killing. He didn't spot the orc he was looking for, but he kept his yew bow busy. The piece of wood was almost like another limb to him, and his movements were sure, confident. He had just raised his bow to take another shot when the missing orc archer's arrow slipped past their defense like an annoying, but deadly, bug and skidded off one of the rocks behind him.

Without breaking his concentration, Legolas let his arrow fly and then zoned in on the lone orc holding a bow. The massive, burly orc was half hidden behind a pathetic rock, but even now it was inching up from its protection and raising its bow.

Turning his own bow to point in the orc's direction, Legolas fingers where just about to free the arrow when Aragorn danced into his line of fire, dealing death to a semi-skilled orc, and he only just grasped the slim piece of wood in time.

"Move," Legolas grunted softly in exasperation, his heart beating rapidly from the sudden burst of fear. Growling with anger, he moved swiftly to his left. That orc sniper was _his_ responsibility and if one of his friends happen to be killed because he hadn't acted fast enough... it wasn't something he dared to ever dwell on. Shifting foolishly a further away from Aragorn for sake of a better shot, he left himself open.

Aragorn didn't notice, preoccupied with his own battle as he was.

Dodging an oncoming orc, Legolas raised his bow to the proper position. The orc, however, had also moved, blockading himself behind a bigger boulder. Hissing n frustration, the prince made eye contact with the dark, unpleasant, and yellow eyes and felt a shiver run up his spine. The orc raised his bow mockingly towards him, before twisting to take aim for Elladan's exposed back. It had barely had time to duck for cover before Legolas' arrow was trimming it's straggly hair.

The orc let out a bellow of fury and shot up, bow raised. Moving even further out of Aragorn's circle of help, Legolas twisted down and hunkered behind his own craggy rock that was covered with dried spots of lichen. Raising his head above the edge so that he could see what his suddenly personal enemy was doing, he recoiled back as an arrow went spinning widely above his head and into darkness.

This orc was strong, and his arrows would fly fast and far.

Legolas' eyes hardened over, and he twirled two arrows free in stead of one. The comfort of the wood slipping over the line and the familiar pull of his muscles calmed his heart and mind and with one swift movement, Legolas sprang forth. Jumping lightly atop his rock, he let his first arrow fly. Almost at the same moment, the orc rocked up and let out a loud war cry that Legolas could discern loud and clear.

The prince's first arrow hit an orc who had unwisely blundered into its path, but Legolas had the second arrow knocked in the blink of an eye while leaping to the ground. As his feet hit the dirt, he pulled the string back until the feathers were touching his cheek. All this happen a few seconds, giving the orc archer just enough time to raise its bow to the proper height.

Both hands tightened on the strings, and almost simultaneously, two arrows were released. Time slowed. The fight around them seemed to freeze and everything tunneled in on two simple pieces of wood that where flying through the sky…

TBC...

 **Short chapter, I know... Anyway, I can promise you some h/c and angst ahead! Thank you so much! As always, feel free to tell my the good _and_ the bad! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N It's Christmas time! However, the bad news about Christmas is that I will be out of town and on vacation on Christmas/Friday. I may or may not be able to post. :( If I can, I will, but I wouldn't get your hopes up to high. If I don't post on Friday, then hopefully I can sneak a post Monday or Tuesday after that.**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Two

Legolas began to drop to the ground as soon as he saw the arrow coming his direction, knowing that he would never have enough time to leap aside. The orc was strong. The arrow would fly fast. But even as he started to fall, Legolas knew something was wrong. The arrow was not arcing as it should, but already beginning its downward spiral. Panicking, the elf tried to change his direction, but it was too late, his body was already in motion. He had overestimated his enemy's ability to aim, which in this case was going to be just as deadly as over underestimating, and now he would pay the price.

The arrow, which would have flown right over his head had it been aimed for one of his vital organs, instead went straight through the upper thigh of his left leg.

Legolas gasped as a searing pain took his breath away and his bow fell from his suddenly numb fingers as he tried to brace himself for an ungraceful impact with the ground. It didn't work and Legolas slammed face first into the ground as his injured leg gave out underneath his weight. A cry of pain was ripped from his lips as the arrow that was embedded in him was shoved through flesh and muscle until the tip tore through the back of his leg, leaving ends of both arrows just sticking out. Warm blood began to soak almost immediately into his leggings and drip down his leg.

Legolas' eyes rolled back in his head and consciousness fled him as pain exploded across his sense.

The prince wasn't out long, maybe a half a minute.

Blinking dazedly, he gazed around, trying to get his bearings back as agony made the battle in front of him swirl sickeningly. What seemed to be a thousand pairs of boots danced dizzyingly in his eyesight as just as many weapons glinted brightly and the sounds of the orc's anguish roared into his ears. Pushing his trembling hands underneath him, the prince shoved himself up onto all fours with a sharp moan as he jostled the arrow that was still in his leg.

Hesitantly, he looked down at his wounded thigh. Looking away immediately, he had to fight the urge to vomit.

Most of the arrow was sticking out of the back of his leg, but splinters of the tail could still be seen admits the scarlet liquid that was his life essential. The ground in front of him was already spotted heavily with blood and he could feel the substance further slipping down his skin.

Gritting his teeth, Legolas dragged himself behind the large rock he had used before for protection. Collapsing against the cool stone, he drew in a shaky breath, glancing once again at his leg. He needed to get the arrow out, he couldn't continue fighting with it in and he was a sitting target, but first he had to check. Raising himself up again, he peaked over the top of the rock, scanning the haze of orcs until his eyes found what he was looking for. The orc archer lay dead, Legolas' arrow firmly embedded in it's chest and with its bow still clutched in its hands.

Legolas melted into the rock once more, allowing it to take his full weight with relief. He rested for a moment, but he knew what he had to do. Taking a deep, shuddering, breath, the elf leaned back against the stone and tried to gather the courage. Taking his knife, he clumsily cut away the end of the arrow sticking out of the back of his thigh.

The sounds of the battle faded to a faint echo in his ears, but it seemed unreal, like a buzzing fly that wouldn't go away. "Just do it," Legolas whispered firmly though teeth that were clenched so tightly that they were starting to ache. Closing his eyes, the elf flexed his fingers and reached back to where the arrow protruded from his skin. Hot blood coated his finger almost instantly, but he merely took a deep breath. Then, without pausing to think about what he was about to do, he yanked hard.

The arrow come free with a spurt of bright red blood, but the force of the pain made stars and lights appear in front of Legolas' eyes. He slumped down against the ground, panting heavily, and resisted the urge to sob. He lay motionless for several seconds, just breathing, until a cold shadow fell across his body. Rolling his head back, the elf blinked his eyes open. Squinting up, Legolas barely had time to roll out of the way as a sword come plunging down towards his chest. It missed by inches. The prince didn't give the orc a second chance to finish the job as he snatched up his knife that was already on the ground. Lunging upwards, he impaled the orc as it tried to pull its sword out of the ground.

The orc screamed in agony and toppled backwards, carrying Legolas with him so that the elf ended up slouched over the rock. Straightening with some effort, the prince wrenched his knife free and looked around, blinking to clear his vision.

The skirmish was far from over, and it was clear that the three elves and human didn't have the upper hand as of yet. Legolas leaned back in despair, clutching the rock for support as he swayed. His friends needed him, yet his vision was doing strange things as his pain spiked and his blood steadily dripped to the ground. He gazed with bewilderment at a brown blob that was coming his way, blinking sluggishly to bring it into focus.

The orc was hardly three feet away when he recognized it for the filth it was. Diving over the rock, he zoned in on the scimitar that was aimed for his neck and sprawled ungracefully on the ground as he failed to regain his feet. A bloody trail marked his painful path, but the action saved his life. The scimitar bounced off the rocks with a screech and a flash of sparks as the end of the blade became notch.

Howling in anger, the evil creature threw the damaged blade aside and moved to tackle the downed elf instead, who was still trying to get back up on his feet.

He hit the much lighter elf hard and they went down with brutal force, smashing Legolas violently into the ground. The elf spluttered on a mouthful of blood and dirt as he bite his tongue on impact, but the pain of this was small compared to the searing agony in his leg.

Spitting blood, he writhed under the orc and smashed his elbow back into its throat, making it gag and cough. Taking adventure of this, Legolas used all his energy he possessed in his rapidly weakening body to throw the crushing weight off. Crawling hurriedly away, the prince cursed violently to mask the soft scream of pain as the orc desperately grabbed hold of his boot and yanked back on his injured leg, hard.

Hitting the ground once more, Legolas used his free foot to kick back and felt his foot connect with the orc's nose, shattering it. He must have kicked it just right for the orc stopping moving and crumbled down. He could only guess that a shard of bone had been shot straight into its small brain.

Slumping back against the ground, Legolas took several deep and steadying breathes, trying to calm his rapidly bleating heart. He was feeling increasingly light-headed and his leg was throbbing terribly... He could tell by the dampness of his leggings that blood was still gushing out of the wounds.

It was time to flee, as much as he hated to say it. He was useless, injured as he was, and would only cause further danger for the twins and Aragorn if he tried to stay and fight. They would just have to finish up the battle without him.

Gritting his teeth, Legolas forced himself up onto shaky legs and drew his one remaining twin knife for protection. The ground wavered in front of him, flashing different colors…Shaking his head vigorously, Legolas stumbled for the line of trees in the distance, knowing that now they would be his only hope. He was as good as dead out here in his condition. He growled at that thought, thoroughly hating himself for leaving.

Within seconds, though, he woes were forgotten as once again he was forced to duel with an orc that was coming straight for him. He defended himself from the first attack with some difficulty. He caught the orc's knife on his own, before heaving it back towards the creature with a grunt and making a quick undercut. He scored a slash, though it wasn't deep or deadly. He wasn't so lucky the second time.

The orc whipped his knife around and faster than Legolas blurred vision could follow, plunged it towards the elf's midriff. To both their surprise, the cold metal pushed easily past the elf's defenses and sank into skin, penetrating the left side of the prince's belly.

Legolas stared at the blade sticking out of tunic with puzzlement written across his deadly pale and features, as if he couldn't understand what had happened. His head was spinning so fast that he couldn't concentrate on much, the pain becoming a roaring vacuum that sucked out all else. The battle sounds and smells faded, leaving only agony. Almost as if he was in another world, he swore he heard a voice screaming his name, a voice that he recognized…

With a jolting thud, Legolas felt his knees hit the hard, unforgiving, ground. He didn't even know he had been falling.

Aragorn roared out Legolas' name once more as he began to run.

He had just finished off his own orc when he happened to glance around the battle field, looking for his friend. He had located Legolas at exactly the right time to see Legolas freeze, with a look of shock and pain on his features. Both had seemed to look down at the same time and that was when Aragorn had screamed out his friend's name for the first time.

Legolas, as if in slow motion, sank to his knees with his head tilted back, sucking in much needed air. The orc in front of him laughed maliciously and yanked the knife back with a hungry grin. It was his last action, for at that moment an arrow abruptly appeared it its chest and it toppled around in surprise. Aragorn realized that his call must have altered the twins, for they were also where running to the aid of the Mirkwood elf. Elladan had his small bow out.

"Aragorn! Take care of Legolas, we will watch your backs," Elrohir shouted, twisting mid-sentence and burying his sword in an advancing orc's gut. The human didn't need told and was already plunging into the group of orcs that where converging on the rather helpless prince.

Cutting his way mercilessly through the filthy dark creatures, Aragorn dropped down in front of Legolas, letting his bloody sword fall with a clatter on the ground. As he did so, he placed both his life and Legolas' in the hands of the twins.

"Legolas!" he pleaded, catching the elf by the shoulders' to stop him from falling forward as he slumped closer the ground. The prince of Mirkwood was sheet white, as if all the blood in his body had bled out. Which, Aragorn discovered as he glanced down, was only a slight exaggerated. Blood was everywhere, drenching the elf in its crimson tide and staining his clothes a dark brown instead of green.

"Oh, Valar…" Aragorn whispered, fear making stomach clench as he tried to see where all the blood was coming from. The battle and everything but Legolas faded to the back of his mind. "Steady, Legolas," he murmured as Legolas leaned heavily into his grasp, panting unevenly. "Steady…"

He slid one hand under the prince's clammy cheek and tilted his head up. "I need you to stay with me, alright," he commanded, shaking the barely conscious elf roughly. Legolas' head lolled sickeningly backwards, but his mostly closed eyes flickered open and he gazed unfocusedly at the human in front of him.

" A'gorn…" Legolas slurred badly, before crying out in pain as the human gently probed the area where the knife had entered. Clenching his teeth, Legolas let his head fall forward and buried it in Aragorn's shoulder so that he would not disgrace himself further. Aragorn's cool hands slipped around his waist and felt along his back for an exist wound, but they had been lucky. The knife hadn't fully impaled the elf.

"Who else?" Aragorn said lightly, glancing quickly up at his friend and did not like what he saw. The elf was so pale that that Aragorn thought he was starting to take on a slightly translucent look. He shouldn't be doing this bad… "But right now, all you have to worry about is staying awake, do you understand?"

"I'm not a child," Legolas replied faintly.

"I know," Aragorn responded with a forced smile as he lightly squeezed the prince's shoulder. He glanced over at the twins before wrapping an arm more firmly around Legolas' back and lowering him gently to the earth. Legolas drew in a sharp breath at the movement and cried out softly.

"Sorry, Legolas, sorry." Aragorn murmured, staring with despair as he once again saw the amount of blood covering the elf. Hurriedly undoing his cloak, he wadded it up and pressed it firmly against the wound, for the bleeding needed to be controlled or else…or else Aragorn didn't want to think about it.

Legolas whimpered at the surge of new pain and reached out, digging blood coated fingers into the earth. He let his eyes squeeze shut, moaning between his rapid in-take of air.

"Stay awake, Legolas!" Aragorn commanded again as if from a great distance away. Legolas wanted too, he really did, but he was so tired…and feeling much too miserable to even really care that much.

A sharp, stinging, slap brought him back around and he started, gazing with confusion up at what he supposed was Aragorn's face, though it looked to be more of a blob.

"Stay awake," the man practically growled, before he went back to adding more pressure to the wound.

The sounds of battle around them grew ever louder as night swiftly descend down upon them. Elladan and Elrohir fought all the harder, striving to keep the orcs away from the wounded, but the orcs were quickly pressing them back, gaining the advantage with their numbers as they all converged on the warriors. They hadn't heard an update form Aragorn, and his silence was worrying.

The human, as it was, had passed the point of worry and was reaching panic. There was far too much blood coating both of them to have come from the wound, and Aragorn couldn't understand it. Legolas shouldn't be doing this bad.

He add more pressure to the wound with one hand, while with the other he reached out and touched Legolas' clammy face, watching with relief as the blue eyes flickered open long enough to make eye contact. He seemed to have lost another shade of color and Aragorn's frown deepened. He was kneeling a puddle of his friend's blood, and he didn't seem to be able to anything about it.

"Just stay with me," the man said urgently, but he knew that words where just words. They would not keep the elf with him, for that he needed to figure what was happening. Gazing haplessly around for inspiration, the human suddenly straighten, now confused.

Through the crowds of orc legs pressing towards them, he could just spot Legolas' most beloved bow. What was it doing all the way over there? Why didn't Legolas have it on him when he had been wounded?

The answer hit him like a bad of rocks. Legolas had already been injured when he received the wound to his gut, it explained everything. The amount of blood that had already been covering the elf, why his health was plummeting like a rock off a cliff, and even why he had gotten stabbed in the first place.

"Legolas, where else are you injured?" Aragorn called frantically, leaning over the elf and framing his face in his hands, trying to get the elf to respond to him. Legolas moaned something out from in-between his teeth, but it was low enough that the human couldn't catch it. "Say again, _mellon-nin_ ,"he requested urgently, bending his head down until his ear was close to the prince's lips.

"My…thigh…" Legolas breathed out and Aragorn instantly began to wipe at the blood coating his friend until his fingers found the jagged hole in the elf skin.

"Oh Valar!" Aragorn swore biting his lower lip in panic. How in Middle-earth had he managed to miss this? It was bleeding freely and strongly, much stronger than the stab wound.

Cursing softly, he pressed his free hand down firmly. Almost at once, however, the life sustaining liquid began to spurt up against his skin, bursting free and spreading further across his hands, Legolas, and the ground.

TBC...

 **How's that ending for you? I'm _sure_ that is just what you wanted for Christmas... :) **

**As always, tell me anything, bad or good!**

 **Review Replies:**

 **ElvenPrincess:** Yes...! Hehehe, yes. I would indeed use those words to describe the orcs. :) Thanks so much!

 **AmazingWriter123:** Hey! You're back! It is good to see you again, mellon-nin! Ah, you don't have to worry about it if you don't want to. :) I understand. Thanks!

 **Reader:** You know what? I hadn't really thought about it tell you mentioned it, but you are so right. Legolas and other archers don't usually mix. I'm glad you like it! Thank you so much!

 **Lord Illyren:** Oh, I am so glad that you are! I hope you enjoy the rest of it as well and that I continue to hold up my end. :) Thanks!

 **Bellasiel:** Hehe, yes, the twins will play a much bigger role this time round. :) Oh, thank you so much! I am glad that are you enjoying and it hope that you continue to do so!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Happy 2016! I hope you all had a good year, and that you have an even better one this time round. :)**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Three

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Aragorn released part of his hold to grab his cloak, only to watch with growing horror as blood spurted out in a gush. Without hesitation the human clamped his hands back around his friend's leg trying to deny what his heart already knew. One of the arteries in Legolas' leg had been severed, or at least nicked enough to cause problems. The mere thought made him feel ill, but he pushed that down as well. Legolas needed him right now more than ever.

"ELLADAN!" he yelled desperately. "I need your help!" Beneath him, Legolas flinched at the loud voice and his already glassy eyes began to flutter close. "ELLAD-" Aragorn began again, whipping his head around only to come face to face with his brother. "I need you to tie a bandage while I keep the pressure." Elladan nodded once at the plea and swiftly set to work ripping a long strip form the already bloody cloak.

"We have just a moment," he said softly as he gently eased Legolas' leg up to elevate it. "You need to have Legolas ready to move as soon as possible. The orcs can smell his blood and Elrohir and I will only be able to keep them back for so long." Aragorn swore.

"Elladan!" Elrohir suddenly called out in strained voice over the racket of orcs fighting and dying and they both twisted around. Without the aid of the older twin, the orcs were pressing their advantage and Elrohir was rapidly back peddling towards them.

"One more minute!" Aragorn yelled back desperately as panic pulled at his innards. One minute would never be enough time, but it was all they had. Elladan brutally began to wrap the bandage around Legolas' upper thigh, above the wound, efficiently cutting off his blood supply. Legolas gasped, his face graying at the sudden pressure before he clamped down on the obvious scream that was trying to escape his throat.

"Elladan!" Elrohir called again, except now he were practically stepping on the other two as the orcs crashed into him one after another. Elladan let lose another curse, and leapt up right, slamming his sword into the nearest orc's chest.

"Aragorn! Take him, get him out now!"

The ranger didn't hesitate but grabbed his friend by the arms and heaved him upright. The elf swayed alarmingly, his knees refusing to lock and his skin taking on a green tinge.

"I — pass out," he just had time to murmur before his eyes rolled back and his legs folded underneath his weight. He fell into Aragorn's waiting arms and the man scooped up his light form, swinging him over one shoulder.

"Go!" Aragorn shouted to the twins, already sprinting over the rocks and towards the tree line. Elrohir shot ahead of him, clearing his path and making sure that it was free from orcs while Elladan covered their backs. Legolas swung awkwardly against the human, his weight both comforting and unbalancing at the same time.

"Come quickly!" Elrohir shouted to Aragorn, swinging his small bow back and firing off a quick shot. It didn't fly as straight or with the perfect precisions as Legolas' would have, but it hit its mark all the same. Aragorn kept running, but a small pang of regret pulled at hiss heart as he realized something. They had left Legolas' treasured bow behind, and he doubted that the elf would ever forgive him if —when— the elf was well again.

"We need to pick up speed, they are gaining on us!" Elladan yelled from behind, quickly followed by a dying orc's scream as the elf ended its life. Gritting his teeth, the ranger attempted to force his starting to burn legs a harder.

Up ahead, the rocky ground gave way to dirt and grass, and then to trees that had grown for more years than Aragorn had walked Middle-earth. They stood tall and straight, their branches reaching towards the distant stars. If they could just reach the trees, if they could just get there before the orcs caught or injured them, then they stood a chance.

Elladan came up swiftly behind the man and grabbed his elbow as the man stumbled over a rock and lost his momentum. Legolas swung to the side, throwing the ranger further off balance.

"Quickly!" Elladan moaned into the man's ear, pulling him upright. "Get to the tree line, follow Elrohir's lead, and when he starts climbing, you give Legolas to me and follow. Do you understand?" After Aragorn nodded once, he swung around and snapped off a quick arrow at one of the closer orcs, buying them a few more precious seconds.

The trees began to grow closer together, and Aragorn knew they close, so close, to making their escape. An arrow flew past their heads and slammed into a tree trunk, and Elladan retaliated with better aim. The last feeble rays of sunlight where blocked by the trees and Aragon began to squint, trying to keep up with the shadowy figure flitting past trees who was Elrohir. Suddenly, the twin disappeared, pulling himself up into an especially large tree. Aragorn skidded to a stop, his chest heaving and Legolas swinging. He could just make out the outline of Elrohir beckoning him to come up.

Elladan stopped gracefully next to the human and held out his arms, waiting for Aragorn to unburden himself of his friend. The human did so, and received a large, uncomfortable, jolt when he turned and saw just how close the orcs where. They were hardly 10 feet behind, their eerie yellow or red eyes bobbing towards them as their weapons glinted like dim stars.

"Go!" Elladan yelled urgently, and Aragorn unfroze. He reached up and grabbed hold of one of the thick branches as Elrohir grabbed his arms.

"Find a place where we can easily cross over into the next tree," the younger twin ordered in a whisper once Aragorn was safety besides him. Pushing his little brother past him and further into the foliage, he reached hurriedly back down to help Elladan with Legolas.

They were just in time. As Elladan hoisted himself up and into the tree, an orc's out stretched fingers snagged his boot. The elf was able to easily shake it off with one good, hard, kick, and just like that he disappeared into the tree tops.

"Come on," Elladan directed in a low breath as he turned to face Elrohir who was supporting an unconscious Legolas. Together they lifted the prince between them and began to edge along the narrow branch.

Suddenly, the tree shook violently beneath them and they all stumbled off balance. Elladan just managed to catch a branch to save himself from falling while also support Legolas.

"Hit it again!" came a raspy, gritty voice. "Knock this tree over or I'll skewer you like a pig!"

Sharing anxious looks, the twins began to move again. If they could just pass this first tree, then they were positive that they could lose the orcs all together.

Aragorn's worried face appeared abruptly between the thick branches and he gazed at the twins with ill-concealed fear.

"We can cross fairly easily into the next tree over, but we had better do it quick," he whispered, closing his eyes and clutching the tree trunk tightly when the tree began to shake sharply once more.

"Keep moving, Estel," Elrohir implored softly when the shaking did not stop and the human did not move. Squeezing his eyes open with effort, Aragorn pried his fingers away from the wood and shuffled forward. He used anything for support that he could until he passed safely over onto the non shaking tree next to him and he let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. He had never liked trees quite as much as his brothers and friend, something that they always enjoyed to tease him about, but he could climb in them just as well as the next human as long as they weren't shaking under him like that.

Elladan and Elrohir completed the transfer with less difficulty even though Legolas was still strung between them. When they were all across, Aragorn turned to look at his brothers expectantly.

"Keep changing trees," Elrohir order, unease written across his face like black ink. "We still need to get a good distance away from the orcs, it won't take them long to realize what we have done."

The transfer from tree to tree went calmly after that and it was several minutes later that Elladan held up his hand to halt them.

"We have gone far enough," he murmured, jostling Legolas up a little higher in his arms. "However, I think we should spend the night up in the trees, just in case."

"How is Legolas?" Aragorn asked, looking up with concern as he lowered himself gingerly down, before scooting back as far as he could against the trunk.

"Not too good," Elrohir replied honestly, taking the prince's full weight as Elladan moved back, straining his ears for any sound of the orcs. "Here, help me with him," the younger twin grunted, lower the elf a little and painstakingly inching along the narrow ledge. Aragorn held out his arms, and together they managed to position Legolas so that his head was in his lap. They elevated his left leg to the best of their abilities, but the healer inside of him was cringing.

Brushing back damp golden locks from Legolas' face, Aragorn bent low and planted a soft kiss on his clammy brow.

"Stay with us," he murmured for the elf alone to hear. He moved his fingers down to the elf's throat and pressed two fingers against it, counting his plus. The elf's heart was racing like a dog after a rabbit. The feel of it pounding so laboriously underneath his fingertips scared Aragorn and he clutched Legolas a little closer.

"How are his wounds?" Elladan asked, appearing abruptly out of the foliage as elves where rapt at doing. He had gone some ways back to see if the orcs had followed them, but to his great relief there had been no sign of them.

"He is still bleeding, if only sluggishly," Elrohir said quietly from where he bent over Legolas, his fingers tight around the prince's thigh. The three brothers shared worried looks, but none of them voice what they were all thinking. Legolas had already lost far too much blood and if they couldn't get the bleeding to stop, then prince of Mirkwood would leave them forever.

"Is the stomach would still bleeding as well?" Elladan ventured, "Was anything vital pierced?" Aragorn shook his head, one hand lightly petting the prince's hair. Whether this was a comfort to himself or the elf in his arms, he wasn't sure.

"It is not as deep as it first looks and the bleeding wasn't as bad as it could be. That ride over my shoulder could not have helped matters at all, though." His own tunic was sticky with blood, and his shoulder was soaked with it.

Elladan nodded at this, edging past Elrohir and trying to get a better look at the wounds. Pulling two of their water skins from their luggage, he used the first to wash out the wounds. If they were to become infected, then Legolas chances of survival would dwindle even further. The other was passed around for them to all drink from, Aragorn forcing some down Legolas' throat.

Finally the elder twins announced what he was thinking.

"We need to close the wounds, especially his leg, as soon as possible, but I dare not try to do anything in the dark and in a tree. It is too dangerous to do without a fire to see by, and a fire will only give our position away." He tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose with blood spotted fingers. Aragorn gripped his friend tighter, his breath catching as he prepared himself for the worst. "But I think he can make it through the night if we keep his leg elevated and the bleeding down. If the bleeding gets worse we will act immediately."

All the air out of Aragorn's lung as relief hit him, and his bent his head until his touched Legolas'.

"Then in the morning we will cauterize the injury." Aragorn winced at that. Cauterizing a wound hurt like hell.

"But –don't we want to try sttching it first? Out here infection is real risk and it will double if we cauterize it. " Aragorn protested, thinking out loud.

"But will it keep the blood in his body better and I think that he has a better chance with blood in his veins of living," Elladan countered not unkindly, "Legolas is strong. He has the strength to live, Aragorn."

"Of course he does!" the human insisted, but the older elf's words effectively cast a dark cloud over thema ll and for a long while none of them mutter a word. The twins sat side by side, occasionally sharing worried looks that Aragorn didn't notice. The human had only eyes for Legolas as he sat rigidly with his back up against the trunk of a tree. He gently stroked Legolas' hair or would touch his face to ensure himself that the prince still lived. Legolas never stirred, lost in the darkness of oblivion that had claimed him.

At some point during the long, dark, and frightful night, Aragorn drifted into an uneasy sleep, one hand resting protectively on Legolas' chest and the other tangled in the elf's golden hair.

When Elladan saw this, he nudged Elrohir and they shared a glance that said it all.

"Give me your cloak." Elrohir whispered and when Elladan had, he drape it over the two friend's as best as he could. "Did you mean what you said, about Legolas being able to make it through the night? —or…" the younger twin asked as he tucked the edges in and turned back to sit next to his brother.

"Or did I say it just to comfort Estel?" Elladan finished for him in serious tone.

"Well, yes," Elrohir said, shifting uncomfortably. The night wind blew softly and his hair lifted lightly off his shoulder.

"We just have to keep monitoring it. I'm not going to let him just die, but I don't know...," Elladan replied miserably. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them, staring up through the dark branches and up at the stars. "Legolas is strong, yes, and we have seen him pull through much worse. But he has lost an exceedingly large amount of blood, and even now his wounds still bleed, if only a little." He paused, taking a deep breath before looking at his twin. The heaviness of the world dwelled on his still young face. "His odds would be better if we could treat his wound right now, but I don't want to draw the orcs to us. There is no doubt that they are out there, searching for us."

Elrohir reached out and laid a hand on his twin's shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"There is only four hours till dawn. Legolas will hold on for that long, I know it," he said bracingly, as much as to reassure himself as his twin.

After that, all silence fell between them, leaving only the night time noises and palpable worry as they anxiously for morning to come.

TBC...

 **Well, that was a better spot to leave it than last time. :)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Catherine10:** Thanks!

 **ElvenPrincess: ...** That is very true. I guess they got a little cocky. :) Maybe this will teach them a lesson! Thanks so much!

 **Lir:** You are good. :) I suck at reviewing, so I understand. Haha! Yes, my cliffies are not something that you want to find sitting in your present pile. Man, I didn't realize how popular the twins were until I didn't really put them in tell last time. Everybody is so glad that they are back (myself included). Thanks so much!

 **Idon'tliketoast:** Haha, yes, this time there was no waiting around. :) Oh...yes. This is going to be so much fun! For me. And the readers. hehe. Thanks so much!

 **Lord Illyren:**...Dude, I could never be Legolas. He goes through to much for me to be able to handle. :) Umm..the honest answer? I just don't feel it like I do with Legolas. I don't read Aragorn h/c that much either. I guess I just really like him in his protective mother henning mode. I find that very endearing.:) Thanks so much!

 **Guest:** Oh, thank you so very much! Your review was very touching and thoughtful. :) Your words reminded me once again how blessed I am to have this talnet and more importantly readers like you. I greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts! Thank again!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Well, FF has finally fixed it's black hole that reviews kept disappearing into. :) Thank goodness.**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Four

Aragorn was shaken abruptly awake the next morning as one of the twins grabbed his shoulder. It took him a moment to remember what had happened and why he had spent the night balanced on a tree branch. Then it all came flooding back. The skirmish, Legolas' horrible wounds and the feel of his precious blood gushing up between his fingers and being unable to stop it and then their desperate flight through the trees and to safety.

Jerking up straighter, Aragorn glanced wildly around through the semi-darkness. Light was just touching the sky and the cool dawn sounds were peacefu, and just that for a moment, he wanted to forget everything that had happened.

"How is Legolas?" he asked instead, locking gazes with Elladan who had straighten and was towering above him.

"We need to close his wound… _immediately,"_ was all the young elf said as he gazed with a mixture of pity and worry down at the pair. From below the clear smell of smoke drifted up to them and when Aragorn looked down he could just catch the bright gleam of a fire. Elladan began to clamber gracefully back down the branches, but he stopped and looked back up at his younger brother. "We are almost ready," he called up before disappearing.

Aragorn nodded even though the twin couldn't see him and let a puff of air stream out between his lips.

"Just hold on my friend, just a little longer," Aragorn whispered to his motionless elf. The change in Legolas from even a few hours ago was startling, and the man felt a lump grow in his throat. Legolas was no longer pale, but a deathly ashen color. His eyes had sunken deep into their sockets and dark shadows lined them, creating a stark contrast to the rest of his skin. The prince fought raggedly for air, his chest heaving up and down, but the intake didn't appear to be enough causing his lips to turn a faintly blue shade. The temperature of his skin made Aragorn fear beyond rationality that death had already claimed his friend.

"Please, Legolas…" he begged, hefting the prince a little higher against his chest. To his astonishment, the prince of Greenwood the Great let out a low, barely audible, groan.

"Legolas _! Mellon-nin,_ can you hear me?" Aragorn smiled in excitement. He shifted the prince lightly against him so that he was cradling his head in the crook of his arms and tapped his face with his forefinger, hoping for another reaction. The elf didn't respond and his heart dropped along with the smile. He hadn't really been expecting anything, but it still hurt.

"Estel, we are ready. Can you scoot him over toward us?" This time it was Elrohir who called out, poking his head up through the branches. The sound of the fire popping and cracking down below could just be discerned and Aragorn felt his stomach drop even lower, if that was possible. He wasn't looking forward to what they had to do.

"Do we have everything?" Aragorn questioned, inching his way towards his brother with one hand pressed against the branch to keep him steady while he supported Legolas.

"Yes," Elrohir replied somberly, reaching out to help with the elf. Aragorn nodded and together they positioned Legolas up and over the Rivendell elf's shoulder.

Elladan was waiting for them at the bottom of the tree next to a brightly burning fire. A knife was resting in the flames and Aragorn could see that it was just starting to glow red from heat.

"How did you sleep, Estel?" Elladan asked softly as the man swung down stiffly after Elrohir and moved to help settle Legolas on the cold, hard, and leaf strewn ground.

"Decently enough for spending the night in a tree, I guess," Aragorn grumbled, unclasping his cloak and folding into a rectangle. Bending down next to Legolas, he slid under his friend's head and straighten up, groaning softly as his stiff muscles protested. "What would you have me do?"

"Eat something first of all, you will need your strength today," Elrohir answered, pushing a few slices of dried meat and bread into the human's hands. Aragorn frowned and opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but the earnest glare that Elladan sent him killed the protests before he could give them birth.

As Aragorn ate, Elladan began to wash out and clean all three wounds. They planned on cauterizing the two holes in Legolas' leg, but they hoped the stitch the one in his stomach instead. It was not bleeding as heavily as the other and they saw no need to cause the elf more pain that what was absolutely needed too. The hole in his leg was still dripping blood and Aragorn marveled not for the first time the stubbornness and resilience of elves.

As Aragorn swallowed his last bite, Elladan rose, announcing grimly as he did so that they were ready. Without having to be told, the other two moved into position as the older twin went to the fire. Elrohir crossed over to the wood-elf's legs and held him firmly in place, just in case he tried to fight back. Aragorn, meanwhile, resume the position that he had held all last night with Legolas' upper body resting in his lap. Elrohir tossed him a freshly whittled stick that was stripped of all its bark and Aragorn nodded back his thanks.

Taking it, he pushed it between Legolas' teeth so that the elf wouldn't bite down on his tongue. The human then grabbed Legolas' wrist and pinned them firmly against the elf's chest with his crossed arms.

"We are ready." Aragorn declared, squeezing his arms tighter around his friend. Elladan nodded, lifting the knife from the fire. It was red hot and the air around it shimmered slightly from the heat.

No one spoke a word and even the animals and insects seemed to sense the need for silence. Elrohir squeezed his eyes part of the way shut and turned his face to the side, not wanting to witness what was about to happen, for it wasn't going to be pretty. It never was.

Elladan knelt down, the knife in his hand glinting. Narrowing his grey eyes, the twin pressed the flat side of the knife to skin.

For a moment Legolas didn't react though the sounds of sizzling blood filled the air, closely followed by the nauseating smell of burning flesh. Then the elf began to jerk, loud moans escaping his throat as the pain filtered to the unconscious elf's nerves.

"Hold him tight," Elladan grunted, lifting the knife and quickly easing the prince's leg up so that he could press the still hot knife up against the exit wound as well. Legolas screamed and began to buck, trying to escape the horrible pain.

"Shh, shh," Aragorn murmured, even as he began to gag lightly on the strong smell. Elrohir was also being affected by the smell, and buried his nose into his tunic while still holding onto the prince's writhing legs. Elladan at first glance didn't appear to be affected, but the sweat beading his brow and his scrunched up nose betrayed the fact that he was.

Crying out again, Legolas began to thrash in earnest, his head flying from side to side, forcing Aragorn to tighten his grip with bruising strength while Elrohir struggled.

"Hold him!" Elladan repeated as he jerked back to comply with Legolas' movements.

"We're trying." Elrohir ground out between clenched teeth. After a few seconds of fighting, Elladan at last pulled the knife away, throwing it aside as if it was something dirty.

"Help me put the bandages one," he demanded shakily, reaching for one of the three bandages covered in a thick, green, paste. Elrohir let go of Legolas' legs and gingerly got up and grabbed the other one. They began to tie them around the raw red, and already beginning to blister wounds. The bleeding had stopped, the wounds had closed and that was what had been needed.

Legolas jerked slightly at the added pressure and moaned, his still deadly pale face creasing with pain. Aragorn eased out from under him, and gently laid his head back on the makeshift pillow, his own face was tinged green as the smell of burnt flesh remained in the air.

"Check his vitals," Elladan requested and Aragorn knelt back down, laying his fingers against the elf's throat.

"His heart is racing," he relayed, though that didn't surprise him very much. "Ask again in a few minutes and it will hopefully have gone down." He took a shaky breath, "Pass me my bag and I will start stitching his other wound," he offered determinedly, pushing his unruly hair back so that it wouldn't be in his way.

They worked together in silence for several minutes until Legolas' wounds had been cared for to their best of their ability.

"What do we do now?" Aragorn questioned as he placed Legolas' cloak over the elf to act as a blanket. The prince was resting as comfortable as was possible, but the man was still concerned with the prince's condition. He had lost so much blood…

"We need to keep moving, find somewhere safer for Legolas to rest and recover," Elrohir answered as he began to pack away their healing herbs. "He has lost far too much blood, and he will be in great pain when he wakes so it would be best to have him situated before then."

Aragorn nodded in agreement and leaned forward, once again checking his friend's pulse. Elladan moved to smother the fire, kicking dirt over it, before moving to obviate all signs of their passing. "'How are we going to carry Legolas?" he asked, "Because we can't throw him over our shoulders like we did last night, it will put too much stain on his wounds."

"'We can build a stretcher," Aragorn suggested, "It won't take long." The three brothers quickly set to work and in record time, they had fashioned a stretcher. After finding two long branches, they used three of their cloaks and stretched them tight over the wood, before tying them off. It wasn't much, but it would carry Legolas.

Gathering Legolas gently, they moved him to the makeshift stretcher and positioned him so that no further harm could come to him, and set off. Aragorn took the back, near Legolas' head, while Elladan took the front, leading them forward. Elrohir scouted the path ahead of them, but was always sure to remain within ear shot.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

It was the middle of the afternoon before Legolas began to stir feebly. At first it was just low moans that would occasionally fill the air, but when he began to twist weakly, Aragorn called for a halt. Gently setting it on the ground in the shade of a beach tree, the twins and Aragorn crowded around Legolas, their hearts pounding with excitement.

"Legolas!" Aragorn called, reaching out and tenderly touching the side of his still dreadfully pale face. "Can you hear me?" Legolas shifted at the sound, letting out a sharp gasp as he jolted his leg, and turned his head towards the human's voice.

"Good, good," the human soothed, calming the elf with the familiarity of his voice. "Can you open your eyes, _seas, mellon-nin_?"

Legolas groaned again, his breathing becoming more labored.

"Estel…" he groaned out, moaning almost feverishly after. His hands fluttered weakly at this side, and then became still once more.

"Yes, Leglas, it is me. Can you open your eyes?" Aragorn repeated, looking up with clear excitement as he took Legolas' hand, squeezing it gently. Legolas heaved a breath, but a moment later his eyelids flickered open.

"How are you feeling?" Elladan asked, grinning down at the prince's dazed and pain filled face.

Legolas stared at him for a minute. "I've felt better," he slowly grounded out, his breathing catching in the middle of his sentence.

"I would believe that," Elrohir volunteered with a smile.

"What happened?" Legolas asked, his voice taunt. His eyes slowly moved around his surroundings, taking things as an experienced warrior was apt at doing.

"What do you remember?" Aragorn asked in return, scooting closer to Legolas' side as he did so. The prince of Mirkwood paused, thinking as he took a deep breath to try and still the cry of pain that wanted to leave his lips.

"Orcs…we, we were going to attack the orcs," he began, screwing up his face as the thought. "I'm guessing it didn't go to well for me," he added softly, but with a hint of humor. His lips twitched upward.

Aragorn shook his head, not evidence of humor in his face. For him, everything was far to near, the memories to clear.

"You were stabbed in you midriff, though luckily it wasn't deep and didn't penetrate anything vital, and you opened two gaping holes in your leg." Here his voice grew low, and Legolas was forced to deepen his concentration to hear what the man was saying. "Your main artery in your leg was cut, thank goodness it wasn't severed, and we had a hard time keeping your blood in your body."

Legolas grimaced lightly, "That bad?" he asked in a strangled tone.

"That bad," Aragorn agreed with a similar facial expression. Legolas closed his eyes, sucking in a large gulp of air, obviously trying to control the pain that was coursing through his body. He couldn't help the wince that lighted his face and it was with effort that he brought his head around to look, the man noted.

"Where are your painkillers?" Elladan asked, sliding in next to Aragorn. The man broke his eyes away from his friend and began to rummage in his worn pack.

Looking up, he asked, "Where are yours?"

"We used them already and we don't have anything strong enough to ease the kind of pain he is in. I was hoping you might have something stronger."

"I should," Aragorn said. He looked up from his bag with surprise as Legolas let out a gritted cry of pain and tried to disguise it as a snort. "Yes?"

"I am fine," Legolas grunted through his teeth, his hands clenching and unclenching as he resisted the urge to grab his upper thigh, as if that could help at all. His face lost another shade and he tried to stop the sharp hiss that escaped his trembling lips.

"I can see that," Aragorn said dryly, cocking an eyebrow. He selected the herbs he wanted, placed the bag on the ground, and began to crush the plant in his fist. Shaking his waterskin, he allowed almost half of it too spill out before dropping the smaller pieces into the flask and shaking it.

"Will it put me to sleep?" Legolas asked shakily, looking first Aragorn and then at the twins.

Aragorn paused, his hands momentarily stilling their task. "Yes…" he said hesitantly

"I don't want it." The elf turned his head to the side, his eyes narrowing as he caught the twins giving each other exasperated eye rolls. "I hate to be put to sleep," he insisted.

"I'm sorry, Legolas. But you don't get a say in the matter," Aragorn said firmly, his face hardening. Legolas shook his head stubbornly, his eyes narrowing as he clenched his fist, whether from pain or determination, Aragorn couldn't tell.

"You are an idiot, Legolas," Elladan declared, "And stubborn. You are going to take it, even if we have to hold you down."

"But—" Legolas protested, only to have Aragorn lean over him and place a finger against his lips. He shook his head, his eyes telling the elf that he _was_ going to take the medication, and that no amount of arguing form him was going to make a difference.

The elf shrank back, his face falling as he glanced around at the three unsympathetic faces. "Fine," he spat.

Aragorn smiled in relief, tilting the elf's head up and pressing the flask against his lips, saying as he did so, "You are a very stubborn elf, you know." Legolas took a swallow, grimacing, but didn't turn to look at Aragorn. "Oh, come on, Legolas, don't be mad at me. It is for your own good." Aragorn insisted, his face anxious. He pulled the flask back and set it aside, turning plaintive eyes towards the elf.

The prince's face softened every so silently.

"If I had a sliver of Mithril for every time someone has told me that I was stubborn," he began grudgingly, "Then I would have enough to build myself a fortification out of it." Aragon snorted, shaking his head in derision.

"That, my friend, you certainly would." The man helped the elf take another douse of medication and then waited. It didn't take more than a minute for the medication to knock the elf back to oblivion and the twins shared an amused glance with Aragorn.

"Maybe next time you should simply stuff them down his throat and forget about being polite," Elrohir suggested, getting back to his feet.

"Actually," Aragorn said also getting to his feet and swinging his pack over his shoulders, "he took them better than he has in the past. There have been times when knocking him over the head was starting to sound like a serious option." The unspoken testament of how much pain the young elf must be in hung thickly in the air, but no one cared to acknowledge it.

"I could never, never, see you doing that," Elrohir stated.

Aragorn smirked, muttering under his breath, "You'd be surprised."

Gathering the stretcher between them, they started once more off on their trek through the woods, looking for a suitable place to rest and recover.

TBC...

 **Well, if you think that rest and recover will happen right away... well, then you haven't been on FF for very long. :)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Lir:** Haha, but yea, this is *me* that we are talking about. Something bad usually happens. Well, to be honest, which of us really remembers a cliffie after a few hours/days until we open up the next. Or maybe that is just me. :) Thanks so much!

 **Guest (1):** Haha, that is so true! Trouble and them go hand in hand. Man, I understand completely. There is that side of you that just wants to heap it on and for it to go on as long as possible, but yet I also want them to be happy and healthy. :) And yes, we are evil. Just slightly. ;) Aw, thank you so much!

 **Guest (2): *** Clears throat guiltily* YEs... I know it has been a while (we will blame it partly on writer's block) but yes, I am still working on it plan on updating The Adventures of a Life Time sometime next week. Hopefully. :) I _will_ update in January sometime. Aw, thanks! And thank you for reminding me to get on the ball. :)

 **Lord Illyren:** Though really, yes, this guys must be cursed. I think they should like into that because it might solve all their problems. :) And true that. Never give me there lives in anything but story form. Thanks so much!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Dudes. I am actually updating before midnight! The sad thing is that I use to update earlier than this. Ah, well. Maybe this can be me returning to my old ways. :) ... or so I typed at about 8:30 pm...it is now 12:03. Things happen guys. Things that may or may not have involved Bucky Barnes and tears. Basically, waiting for Civil War is going to kill me.**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Five

The day grew long as the three brothers worked their way through the woods. The wind picked up towards evening, but it was warm, so no further complaints were made. Legolas slept like the dead for the most part, Aragorn's herbs having done their job well. Occasionally, soft sounds of pain would escape his lips as he was jostled but as the day wore on, the moans become more frequent and the brothers' decided to find a place to spend the night. There was still a few good hours of daylight left, but they felt that it would be better used tending to Legolas than anything else. They set up camp at the base of a large beach tree where the faint gurgling of a distant stream could just be heard by even Aragorn's mortal ears. Several birds sang in the tree tops and the instincts returned their cries, creating a comforting hum. It would have been peacefully perfect if not for the sounds of pain.

"At least now we can slip his herbs into something instead of forcing them on him," Elrohir commented with a glance at his friend as he knelt down, trying to get the fire to light.

"Too true," Aragorn agreed, pulling out small cooking pot from his bag. "I'll be right back," he added, "I'm going to go find us some more water." Swinging the pot lightly in one hand, he disappeared into the woods.

When he returned, he found the twins had the fire started and camp set up.

"That was quick," he observed. Setting the pot on the fire, he reached for his pack, intending to start a healing solution for Legolas. However, upon digging through the contents, he made an alarming discovery.

"Have you seen my healing bag?" Aragorn asked the twins, a confused look on his face as he dug deeper into his pack, shifting through his various belongings.

"No, why?" Elladan asked, sitting up straighter from where he was reclining against a rock.

"Because I can't find it." The man upended his bag with a frustrated grunt and dumped everything into a heap on the ground. Digging through the pile, he began to repack his bag, hoping against hope that the small, but exceedingly important, bag would magically be there.

"Did you take it out?" Elrohir asked, crossing to the human's side and laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Only when we…stopped," Aragorn groaned, running a hand through his hair. "I bet I never repacked it after drugging Legolas." Angrily shoving his newly repacked bag aside, he gave it a glare. Without his herbs, he felt strangely vulnerable.

"We will find other herbs," Elladan soothed, looking the human in the eyes. "You know better than anyone, expect for maybe Ada, where to find the best herbs out here in the wild." Legolas made a sound in his sleep across the clearing and the three brothers glanced over.

"You are probably right," Aragorn said after staring for a moment at his best friend and standing. "I'm going to see if I can find anything before it gets too dark to see. We are going to need them tonight."

"Be careful. Do want one of us to come with you?" Elrohir asked, watching as the man checked to make sure he still had his dagger. Aragorn shook his head.

Elladan spoke up, "See also if you can find anything for infection. I don't want to risk him getting any." Aragorn nodded, before picking up his pack.

"I'll be back before too long," he said in parting. He could hear the partial concern in the twin's voices, for Legolas, and he knew that they had good cause for it. Infection was always a danger out in the wild, never mind the fact that the wound had been cauterized, and without the safety and comfort of having herbs around, there was cause to be concerned. Aragorn felt the guilt and annoyance twist deeper into his gut. How could he have been so stupid?

An hour later, when the sun was starting to go down and the night time animals were coming out, Aragorn returned not looking much happier than when he had left.

"Did you find anything?" Elrohir asked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere and placing a hand on the ranger's shoulder.

"I didn't find much, but there are a few herbs that I found...normally I would only use this as a last result," Aragorn explained softly, "Is Legolas awake?" The two began to walk into camp, the smell of smoke and something sizzling rising through the air to greet them.

"Yes," Elrohir said shortly, "You are going to have to give him something, he is in a lot of pain. What did you find anyway?" The two entered the clearing they were camping in and atomically lowered their voices. Aragorn glanced over to find Elladan leaning over Legolas, talking to him quietly.

"The strongest painkiller I could find was _Kiris-a_ ," Aragorn said, giving his older brother a glare as sure enough Elrohir began to snicker.

"That was _all_ you could fine? This may get interesting…"

"It will numb his pain," Aragorn said defensively. Elrohir's face fell, and he looked sadly over at the pair of elves sitting under the tree just in time to hear Legolas give a soft, clenched, grunt of pain.

"Here," Aragorn said hurriedly, pushing his pack into his brother's hands, whom took it without complaint. Taking long strides, Aragorn knelt down besides Legolas. As he did so, he caught Elladan's last words.

"Do you think changing the bandages would help any? We could put more slave on your wounds…"

"I don't know," Legolas ground out, his teeth grinding together. His face was flushed with the effort of keeping his cries in, and his hands where gripping his leg just above the knee tightly.

"It will help some, perhaps," Aragorn offered worriedly, laying a hand against the elf's back as Legolas hunched forward, his forehead touching his good knee as he sucked in large breathes. His control over his body was beginning to fail.

"I don't care what you do, just as long as it helps," Legolas moaned, causing three to exchanged startled looks.

"We will try it, then. Elrohir, would prepare some herbs, please?" Aragorn asked. Taking the prince by the shoulders and pulling him back so that he was leaning against him, Aragorn wrapped his arm around the prince. He lightly gripped the prince's forearms as Elladan began to untie the bandage as gently as he could.

"I. won't. strike. out," Legolas hissed, his hand reflexively clenching and unclenching as Elladan slowly began to unwrap the cloth.

"I know, I know," Aragorn soothed, subconsciously squeezing the elf as he jerked lightly, a low moan escaping his lips. He could feel Legolas shaking against him and once more felt the twinge of guilt. Legolas whimpered again, and quickly turned his head to the side, burying his face in his shoulder to stifle the rest of his cries. One of his hands released its death grip on his leg, and flew up to press against his stomach.

Elladan looked up hesitantly at Aragorn and Legolas, the bandages fully off now. Aragon could clearly see the blistered, red stretched flesh and felt sympathy tug at his heart.

"I've got him," he assured Elladan as he nodded his head firmly, his fingers tightening. The older twin dipped two fingers inot the paste that Elrohir offered him, freshly made from Aragorn's recent findings, and began to smear it across the hot flesh. Legolas gasped audibly, his face paling dramatically as he went stiff, every muscle in his body seeming to protest.

"It will help, just hold on," Aragorn whispered into Legolas' ear, strengthening his grip as Legolas weakly tugged against his restraints. Elladan quickly finished with the paste and proceeded to warp the injuries in fresh bandages from Elrohir's bag. The bandage had been soaked in cold water and Aragorn could almost see the relief drain into Legolas' face as the coldness was laid against his flesh.

His slumped back in the man's grip, his breathing shaky, and Aragorn tentatively let his arms go.

"Maybe we should have given you some painkillers before," the human said apologetically, brushing some of the elf's hair away from his pallid face.

"Maybe…" Legolas agreed, grimacing as he let his eyes slide shut. The fight had drained out of him, he was spent.

"Stay awake for just a little longer, Legolas," Aragorn insisted, shifted the elf's hands away as Elladan lifted the bloody and torn tunic, gaining accesses to the stab wound. He worked carefully, as Legolas stiffened once more, but soon the job was done. Elrohir was waiting with a steaming mug in his hands.

"This will dull the pain, Legolas, do you think you can manage it?" he asked, kneeling down next to them. Legolas nodded unsteadily and Aragorn and Elladan each took on his arms, easing him up into a sitting position. His already pale face blanched and his eyes rolled momentarily back, but a quick shake from his supporters brought his head snapping up.

Automatically he slurred out, "I'malright," making the other three share exasperated looks. Aragorn took the mug from Elrohir and pressed it up against the elf's lips, giving him The Look.

"Swallow," he ordered, tilting the cup back slowly and pulling it back when he had deemed Legolas had had enough. Laying their friend back down on the pile of cloaks, Aragorn sat down next to him. He kept a light hand on the elf's knee as he took shallow breathes and recovered from the exertion.

"I'm sorry, Legolas," he said as a flash of something Legolas couldn't identify in his current state, but he couldn't spare the breath that it would take to ask why and Aragorn was ignoring his questioning look. By time he gained his breath back, however, the drugs had kicked in and everything had gone fuzzy.

"Do you have any food left?" Aragorn asked, his stomach growling at the thought of food. The brothers sat and ate together, conversing quietly so as not to disturb Legolas who appeared to have managed to drift off. This notion was destroyed when Legolas suddenly let out a strange laugh.

"Legolas?" Elladan questioned in surprise. Looking over in the direction of the elf, he saw that the elf's eyes were wide open and starting at the trees above him with a dazed look. In bewilderment, he glanced over at his brothers. Elrohir wore a poorly smothered smirk while Aragorn's eyes remained firmly fixated on the ground.

"What—" Elladan began, feeling rather left out of whatever was happening, when Legolas interrupted him.

"The trees are dancing…" he giggled a voice pitched higher than normal.

"—What did you give him?!" The older twin finished his eyes wide with unspoken alarm.

" _Kiris-a_ …" Aragorn said pointedly, still finding the fire very interesting.

"Oh... _oh!_ " Elladan remarked, a grin spreading across his face. "You little rascal, I underestimated you." Reaching out, he ruffled his younger sibling's hair. Aragorn shoved his hands away, glaring at the twin.

"It was the strongest pain killer I could find," he explained, getting to his feet and moving next to Legolas who was trying to raise himself up. "Lay still, _mellon-nin_."

Legolas giggled again, reaching out and gripping Aragorn's arm tightly as he stared up at him with unfocused eyes, a lopsided grin on his face.

"You…you look funny…"

"Thank you." Aragorn rolled his eyes as the twins began to laugh and freed his arm form the elf's grip, patting the prince's arm hand lightly. Legolas struggled for a moment against him, before freezing with a look of awe in his eyes.

"Look at the stars…" he murmured, pointing up at the distant, shimmering, balls of light.

"Yes, Legolas, we see them," Elrohir replied the grin widening across his face. Aragorn narrowed his eyes had him and shook his head.

"They're…they're…" Legolas trailed off, his face turning down as the stared up. "Glittering!" he exclaimed, his lips turning up once more. "They are glittery. And shinny. I want to touch them." Reaching up as if to do just that, Legolas laughed happily.

"This is going to be _interesting…_ " Elladan tucked his feet under him, watching Legolas as he cupped his chin in his hands.

"If you _dare_ use any of this against him, then I swear you will regret it." Aragorn threatened, pointing his fingers at the twins. The two only laughed.

TBC...

 **Well... there you go. A little bit of humor. It won't last long, I guarantee. This is just the calm before the storm.**

 **Anyway, this chapter wasn't my favorite ever, but as always feel free to tell me anything that I can improve upon! :)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Lord Illyren:** Haha, when things go smoothly this early in, people start worrying, and for a good reason. :) Things can't last too good for too long with all use fan girls around. Thanks!

 **Guest:** Oh, thanks so much! I hope that you continue to enjoy! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I've had 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" stuck in my head ALL DAY. Someone please put me out of misery (...thought it could be worse).**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Six

Aragorn shifted restlessly where he sat, his faintly smoking pipe cradled between his fingers. A smile began to lift the corner of his lips, but as he jammed the pipe in-between his teeth he successfully terminated it.

"No, Legolas," Elrohir was saying impatiently, gesturing widely at himself, "I am Elrohir, not Arwen."

Aragorn coughed, hiding a small laugh. Elladan had no such qualms and was on his back, almost sobbing in hysterics.

"No," Legolas stubbornly shook his head, his chin set in determination. He was sitting up, though they had forced him to recline against the tree. His eyes still held the unfocused, dreamy look to them. "Lady Arwen, I do not understand why you are trying to convince me that you are your brother…"

"Because I. am. Elrohir," the younger twin struggled to get out between his gritted teeth, his face screwing up as his fingers clenched and unclenched.

"I truly do not understand, my lady," Legolas repeated, turning to look at Aragorn for help as Elrohir threw up his hands and let out a most unlady-like cry of frustration. "Estel?"

"You are confused, _mellon-nin,"_ Aragorn said lightly, though his voice was strained. He aimed a kick a Elladan, who was hardly able to breathe for laughter.

"I'm never, _never,_ going to let you live this down!" the older twin wheezed, his shoulders shaking as he began to hiccup.

Legolas began to laugh as well, giggling along with the twin.

"Legolas," Aragorn reprimanded. He was now unable to hid the smile on his face as he got up, leaving his pipe on the rock behind him. "You need to control yourself." He placed a restraining hand on the elf's shoulders, trying to keep the elf from harming himself worse than he already was. Maybe it would have been better to let Legolas suffer instead of this...but Aragorn knew himself too well. He wouldn't have been able to stand by quietly and watch Legolas in that much pain.

Elrohir glared at his twin from where he was sulking in the corner of their camp. Elladan only began to giggle again. Standing abruptly, Elrohir marched towards the edge of camp. "I'll be back. I _am_ going to find more _Kiris-a_ that will somehow find its way into your water flask," he said in such a tone that Elladan chocked on his laughter, restoring an eerie silence to the woods.

"You got yourself into this one," was all Aragorn said with a shrug. However, just as quickly as he disappeared Elrohir was back, all playfulness gone from his face.

"Something's wrong," he stated urgently. "I didn't notice it before, but listen."

"What? What is it?" Aragorn asked in a hushed tone as he rose to his feet.

"Listen. Do you not hear it?" Elrohir insisted, his ears twitching up like a foxes. Elladan was following suit, but all Aragorn could do was stand and wait. "The ground is crying out…"

"Orcs!" Elladan whispered in shook, his eyes flashing open as he hurriedly scrambled to his feet.

Aragron's heart did a free fail to his feet. "How far?" he asked with a calmness that he certainly did not feel. He did not doubt what his brothers told him, even though his mortal ears had yet to pick out the sound.

"Too close. We only didn't hear them sooner because..." Elladan trailed off, leaving it unsaid that the only reason that they hadn't heard them before was because they had let their guard down. Elrohir grabbed his sword, buckling it on with skilled fingers.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to see if I can get a closer visual on them." With that he pulled himself into a tree and disappeared from sight.

Legolas, who had fallen silent, did not seem to realize the seriousness of the situation as he grabbed Aragorn's sleeve.

"Why so worried, Estel," he drawled, lolling his head back to look at the man, the strange smile still on his face. "Be haaaappy!'

"Because," Aragorn answered tightly, moving swiftly to put out the fire that he thought had been burning dimly, but now seemed bright enough to attract every animal within the forest. Elladan moved just as quickly, throwing their belongings haphazardly into packs. He paused next to Aragorn, bending low next to the human.

"Can you keep Legolas quiet if called upon to do so?" he asked gently. Aragorn stopped working, and then both leaned back to give the prince of Mirkwood concerned looks. The prince had accepted Aragorn's answer and was dreamily seeking the stars once more.

"Yes," Aragorn answered curtly, his heart constricting within him.

"Good," Elladan said in relief, his tone softening as he got up, swinging both his and Legolas' packs over his shoulder.A leaf fluttered down from a nearby tree and the faintest of vibrations made him turn around.

"Elrohir! What did you find out?" he cried in a low tone as he rushed over to his twin whom had just dropped out of the trees.

"Nothing good," The younger twin said grimly, striding over and accepting his pack from Aragorn. "As far as I can tell, the orcs are indeed the same ones we attacked. They followed us here and are close."

"But how?" Elladan demanded.

"I don't know!" Elrohir replied sharply, fear making his face tight.

"They could have done it many ways," Aragorn broke in, "Our sent. Legolas might have dripped blood. Sometimes I think they have a inner sense of direction that leads them to wherever they can cause the most trouble."

"Aragorn…" Legolas called out from behind them. Aragorn winced at the loud tone and turned to face his friend quickly. The elf's peaceful look was gone, and it seemed that he too sensed the orcs though his muddle brain didn't recognize it for what it was. He had half pushed himself up and his face had gone the color of new snow.

"It's alright, _mellon-nin,_ " Aragorn called over his shoulder, before turning back to his brothers and bending their head together.

"Do we flee?" Erohir asked, looking to his older brother and younger brother for guidance. "Or do we fight?"

"Run. We are in no real condition to fight," Elladan replied with simplicity, shaking his head. His dark eyes were like steel and his brothers straightened. It was moments like this that the outer ring of the playful twin wore was shed and showed the true warrior underneath. "Aragorn, Elrohir, you help Legolas. Take him down the path, towards the orcs."

"What—" Aragorn shot back his eyebrows shooting up.

"No, hear me out. We have no time." The older twin held up his hands to ward off any more interruptions, glancing back and forth between his two brothers. "Hide under something, or, if you can, in the trees. You scent will hopefully be covered by our old scent. The orcs will hopefully be confused by our old scents and follow that. "

"What about you?" Elrohir asked with palpable concern. He reached out, grabbing his twin's arm.

"I'm going to continue in the opposite direction and lead them on for as long as I can, again hopefully confusing them. I'll escape and run if they catch up to me before the sun goes up. I'll come back to find you."

"What happens if you can't find us?" Elrohir asked, his eyes flickering to the path behind them with the faint traces of fear. He didn't like to be separated from his twin, too much could happen.

"We make for Rivendell, for home." Aragorn replied instantly. "If any of us become separated we head for home. We will be bound to meet up eventually."

"Agreed," the twins said as one. No one else said anything, and then Elladan drew them together swiftly, embracing both his brothers at once.

"Go," he urged, letting go almost immediately. The time was ticking; they didn't have a moment to spare.

Elrohir and Aragorn hurried over to Legolas, the younger twin throwing a glance over his shoulder at his twin. Legolas was shaking his head as they approached him, looking rather like a cornered rabbit.

"Dark. I don't like the dark. My home, my forest, is growing so dark," Legolas mumbled, his good mood turning dark as the drug opened a part of his mind that the elf surely would have chosen to keep private, and magnifying his fear by ten-fold. His eyes flickered feverishly around, his face glistening with sweat by the light of the faint moon.

"It won't be that way for long," Aragorn comforted, grabbing one of the elf's arm as Elrohir did the same. Together they hoisted the prince to his feet and supported him as he buckled. "Walk with us, alright?"

"No, no. There is no end to darkness. It only grows," Legolas protested, crying out sharply as he tried to take a step. Even the drug could not dull that amount of pain. Aragorn slapped his free hand across the prince's mouth and the cry become muffled.

"Legolas, you have to remain quiet, do you understand?" Aragorn hissed firmly.

"Are there spiders?" Legolas asked fearfully once his friend's hand had been removed. His voice was clearer now, though his eyes hadn't lost that glassy stare. Automatically he reached back, his fingers fumbling for his ever present weapons. When he found only air, he turned to face Aragorn with a terrified look in his eyes.

"My weapons…" he whispered, searching his friend's grey eyes.

"That is why you must be quiet, my friend," Aragorn said, a sense of guilt pricking at his sides as Legolas nodded mutely and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth.

"Good luck..." Elladan whispered softly, smiling his encouragement, and then he was gone.

The next several minutes were pain staking and heart stoppping for the three friends. Elrohir and Aragorn helped Legolas hobbled down the path, aiding him to the best of their abilities but the prince's was limping badly. He clung to their shoulders, his fingers digging into their skin as he attempted to kill any sound of pain, but faint cries still manged to slipped out. Every time his happened, it set Elrohir and Aragorn a little more on edge and Aragorn found himself jumping at shadows.

"We need to stop, we don't want to go too far anyway," Aragorn breathed out to Elrohir after thinking he saw an orc leaping out at him for the fifth time.

"Spiders, though, can't stop. Cannot fight," Legolas protested, flecks of blood coating his chin from where he had bitten through his lower lip. The wild look his eyes made him appear quite deranged.

"We have a plan," Elrohir soothed, leading them off the path and towards the thick bushes that dotted the forest floor. Legolas grave a gritted cry, his head falling forward to rest against his chest as he panted heavily.

"Shh, Legolas, shh…" Aragorn reminded. He cocked his head to the side as he thought he heard the faint trample of many feet. "Under the bushes, quick." Together, he and Elrohir helped Legolas to the ground and as gently as they could, rolled him under the thick branches. The bushes were big enough to hide someone if they curled up, and wide enough that two might be able to fit under if they squeezed. Aragorn slide in next to the elf, helping him as far back as he could go, and laid a comforting hand on his arm as they become absolutely still. Elrohir dove under a bush across from them and they waited, each second heightening the fear that was simmering just below the surface.

By now the orcs noisy progression through the forest was louder than a beating drum. Every creature in the area must have heard them, and every creature in the area with any sense had fled.

Aragorn, who was practically squashing the elf against the base of the stump, felt Legolas began to tremble. Rubbing the elf's arm soothingly, he closed his eyes.

"It will all work out. We are safe." Aragorn dared to breathe out in the elf's ear. The elf shook his head in jerky movements and Aragorn felt his heart clench. The archer wasn't in his right mind, he didn't know what he was doing. And worst of all? Legolas would have taken agony over being drugged out of his sense like this... At that moment, Aragorn missed his sure, confident, friend more than he would have thought possible a few hours ago when Legolas had almost been in tears because of the pain.

"No…no we are not," Legolas began in a tone pitched louder with fear, causing Aragorn to tighten his grip on his arm.

" _Shh…"_ he hissed desperately as the ground beneath them began to vibrate. He pressed his forehead against the side of the elf's head, trying to comfort him.

"Aragorn, they will kill us all, just like the spiders have killed my people," Legolas insisted his trembling worsening and his tone coming close to hysterics. The cruel tongue of the black speech could now be heard and Aragorn felt his heart start to do somersaults. Swallowing with difficulty, the man gripped Legolas tighter.

"Please, Legolas, you must remain quiet," he begged. Something hard hit him in the middle of his back and he his heart about shot out of his chest. Twisting to the side with his hand on the handle of his sword, he couldn't help letting his eyes slide close in something that was close to relief. He could just make out Elrohir frantic face in-between the branches, mouthing at him to 'keep him quiet'.

"I'm trying!" Aragorn mouthed back.

"HOLD!" An orc shouted, and everyone including the two elves and Aragorn froze. "I heard something…" a gravelly voice spat. The sounds of sniffing filled the air and Aragorn licked his suddenly dry lips. "Spread out." The voice ordered slowly. The simply words carried evil with them, and Aragorn felt Legolas truly begin to shake.

TBC...

 **Oh...oh deary me. The orcs are back. Now that, for sure, was a huge shock for all of you... ;) Yup. For sure.**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Waffle:** Oh, thank you so much! I am thrilled that you are enjoying it so far! And yes. Protective Aragorn is the best thing...I love it so much that is slightly bad. :) I'm hope that you continue to enjoy!

 **Lir:** I'm glad you made it! :) Yes, poor Aragorn didn't have a choice, but I would beat quite a lot of money that he really wished he hadn't now. Basically poor everybody. Thanks so much! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N After the last chapter, when I reading through all of your lovely reviews, all I could think was 'If only they knew...if only they knew what was coming... *laughter*'**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Seven

 _Please…please let them move on._ Aragorn silently prayed to the Valar. Sweat was building on his brow, but he didn't dare not make a move to wipe it away.

"See!" Legolas moaned in panic and Aragorn bit back a curse and, before the elf had the chance to make another sound, slapped a hand over his mouth and nose. He felt his friend chest move with an intake of breath and without hesitation cut off his air supply.

" _Forgive me, my friend, but it is for your own good,_ Aragorn thought, his heart constricting as Legolas began to struggle against him. He swiftly pushed the elf up against the tree stump and hooked his leg around the elf's, forcefully subduing all movement. The elf's fingers came up, scrabbling against the human's hands and pulling at his fingers but Aragorn tightens his grip, holding the elf still. The rationally part of his mind was screaming at him that he was s _aving his life,_ but this didn't help any, and Aragorn felt horror and relief wash over him as Legolas gave up, merely gripping his wrist desperately in a plea to let go.

A shadow fell over them and Aragorn froze. Slowly he raised his eyes, looking through the branches to find an orc standing over them, sniffing. Its skin was an ugly yellow, but the sword swinging at its side was clean and bright...a silent threat.

 _Oh, Valar…_ Aragorn found himself thinking as his heart beat so loud he was sure the orc could hear it. The top of their bush began to shake as the orc brushed a hand over it, still sniffing, and Aragorn held perfectly still, not even daring to breathe.

Next to him, he felt Legolas go limp and his hand slipped off Aragorn's wrist.

Automatically, Aragorn released his grip, horror throbbing through his veins, but a grunt from above them stilled his actions once more. The orc began to move away and the man quickly lowered his hand to rest lightly above the prince's mouth, waiting for the brush of air to show that he hadn't killed his friend. It came a moment later, fast and light.

"There is nothing here!" An orc grunted angrily, and Aragorn refocused his attention on what was happening above him. He kept on hand hovering above Legolas' face, finding comfort in the warm puff of air against his skin. "You promised us elf-meat!"

"And elf-meat you'll get," a second orc, Aragorn supposed the new leader, snarled, "if you would shut your trap. Those elves aren't going to walk up and lay down at your feet with ya yammering and complaining."

The first orc swore. A second later there was a swish of air, a roar of anger and pain, and then a thud. Daring to peek out between the twigs and leaves, the man flinched back with surprise as he saw the freshly dismembered arm lying on the ground just a few inches from them. He couldn't see the orc that had lost the ir, but he could hear it. It was sobbing in pain but he could also detect the hiss of underlying anger and thirst for revenge.

"Anybody else got a problem?" the orc called out through the jeering laughter. "Well, then, move out you dogs! The scent is still fresh."

The pounding of the orcs feet lasted for several seconds, and then the forest fell silent once again.

"Legolas!" Aragorn instantly whispered and shook the prince. The elf's body lolled to the side, but he remained as limp as a rag-doll. Aragorn lightly touched their forehead together. "I am so sorry, _mellon-nin,_ so sorry," he murmured.

But they were safe…

The thought had hardly left his mind when an excited shriek split the air. An orc's shriek.

Rolling out from under the bushes, Aragorn was on his feet in an instant, drawing his sword with a hiss from his scabbard. He need not have worried, the orc had been silenced as Elrohir's sword entered its foul heart. It was bleeding not only from the fatal wound that Elrohir had given it but also from the stump where its arm had once belonged. Elrohir yanked his sword back, and the creature toppled forward to sprawling across the top of the bush.

It was too late, however, the damage had been done. The orcs in front of them had heard the cry and answered with shouts of triumph that sounded like a band of badly tuned trumpets. The tramp of their large feet could be heard again, picking up in speed as they raced along.

Aragorn sunk back under the bushes, quickly stripping the cloak from off his shoulders as he did so. He flung the gray material over Legolas to hopefully help act as a camouflage, and crouched at the ready, remaining in the bushes. His greatest element was surprise, and he was going to use it for all it was worth.

He only had to wait a minute before the first orc appeared through the trees, his leering face quickly followed by the others. They laughed in jubilation when they found their dead companion, drawing their weapons. They began to circle around the clearing, sniffing the air as they went.

"Come out, come out, little elves…come out and we can play more games," One orc crooned dangerously, peeping through the bushes around the dead orc.

 _Bad idea…_ Aragorn thought with a tight-lipped grin. Sure enough, the startled scream of the orc quickly split the air as Elrohir shot out of the undergrowth like a demon, his sword already impaling the orc.

The orcs scattered, terrified by the abrupt and furious appearance of the elf, but quickly gained their courage back as they saw that it was them against a single elf. They outnumbered him 50 to one.

More than one of them screamed out war cries at the top of their lungs and the first wave of orcs crashed over Elrohir.

Aragorn waited, counting silently. When he reached twenty, he surged out of the bushes like a jack-in-a-box and slashed the startled orc that had been running past his position through the gut. It fell with a gurgled yell, clutching at his stomach, but Aragorn didn't pay him any more mind as he twirled his sword and lunged into the fight.

The skirmish was neither swift nor easy. It seemed as though the orcs had multiplied through the night and the two sons of Elrond had themselves boxed in by the difficult terrain and the orcs. They were going to have to fight this one out on their own. Legolas thankfully remained undiscovered, though he could provide no help, and Elladan remained up the trail somewhere, courageously waiting for orcs that would know never come.

The night dragged on, each second that passed by seeming like ten to the two brothers as orc after orc was killed, only for another to come and take its place. The closed in area was both a blessing and a curse. The orcs weren't able to sneak up on them as easily, but there seemingly countless numbers were wearing down on the two brothers, especially Aragorn who had the stamina of the elves. The bodies began to pile up around them, but it seemed as though they were locked in a stalemate. They were trapped if they wanted to escape together.

"We need to make a break for it, or this isn't going to end well!" Elrohir called out in elvish, shouting to be heard over the sounds of battle. He grabbed an orc, slashed it through the stomach, and let it fall.

"What?" Aragorn yelled, ducking an orc and watching as it skewered one of it fellows instead. They had found themselves separated, and the tired human was having trouble concentrating on more than just killing the next orc.

"I said," Elrohir began to yell, but sighed, still swinging his sword. "Can you make an escape!" he bellowed. This time, Aragorn seemed to hear and glanced around, backing an orc into a tree as he did so and thrusting his sword into it.

"Possibly," he called, his voice cutting short as he ducked again. "What about Legolas?" He took a moment to close his eyes, fighting off exhaustion as his tired body protested all he was putting it through. An orc's war-cry as it charged him stimulated his body and he swung around, easily beheading the creature.

"I'l—" the elf broke off, dropping to the ground and rolling back onto his feet before pivoting in time to catch an orc as it attempted to sneak up on him. "Grab Legolas!" he finished louder, pulling his sword back to his side. He was nearer to where the elf lay, and would have an easier time getting him out.

Aragorn frowned as he swung his sword, not realizing that his mortal ears had deceived him, only catching the last part of the sentence.

"I am to grab Legolas?" he asked, wondering why Elrohir would want him to cross the mass of fighting orcs to get close to the sleeping prince once more. It would be much simpler for him to act as a distraction for Elrohir. His vigor through the heat of battle, however, made the question came out as a statement and that was how the younger twin took it.

"You don't want me too?" Elrohir asked in confusion, blocking a blow.

Aragorn nodded firmly, shouting as he did so, "Yes!" His ears had failed him once more, the ringing of a blade against his distracting him and cutting out the word 'don't'.

"Are you sure?" Elrohir asked even as he began to bring his fighting towards the edge of the clearing, ready to draw away as many orcs as needed. And perhaps it did make sense. The orcs hatred of the elves ran deep, deep enough that no matter what other tempting options, the orc would always choose the elf.

"Yes!" Aragorn replied emphatically and Elrohir shrugged. He wasn't entirely sure about this, but Aragorn was no child, and he knew as a fact that he would never do anything to harm or endanger his friend.

Making for a free spot, Elrohir made sure he had the attention of the orcs before running off. He grinned slowly as he slowed his pace just enough to keep himself tantalizingly close. When he deemed he had put enough distance between them and his brother, he fled into the trees and disappeared. He left behind the gang of orcs who were half crazy with blood thirst and their wild screams behind him eased his heart. He wouldn't be surprised if they all slaughtered themselves before morning.

Aragorn, meanwhile, was just moving to break away as well when he came face to face with a muscled orc, who was flanked by two other wiry looking orcs. They attacked as one and for the next few minutes, Aragorn was only concerned with what was happening in his small bubble. He didn't see Elrohir leave or the number of orcs who had left with him. When he had finally managed to drive his sword into the orc's heart he glanced swiftly around. Elrohir was long gone with Legolas, or so he supposed.

Moving towards the thick trees to his left, Aragorn kicked out tiredly at an orc who had been brave enough to get close to him, before killing it. Taking a deep breath, he began to shout. Moving into the trees he made a run for it, cutting a trail through the wild.

The rest of the orcs gave chase but were just as fast as him, but not as smart, and he soon lost them.

Pausing to listen after he had been steadily jogging for half-an-hour, Aragorn smiled when all that he heard was the normal sounds of the forest during the night. An owl hooted in the distance, and the comforting buzz of crickets followed suit. Turning his back on the path behind him, Aragorn struck out for home.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Elladan waited all night for an orc attack that never come. All that terrifying night, he had crouched in a tree, barely daring to breathe as he poised, ready to attack as soon as the orcs were in sight. In his heart, he knew that their desperate plan had not worked, and when dawn's faint light filtered gently through he leaves, he jumped back down to the path.

There was nothing he could do now, except follow the path back and see what had become of his brothers and friend. If they had also survived the night, then they would have made great haste for Rivendell. It was getting too dangerous to stay and wait for Legolas to heal further.

Mouth dry with apprehension, the older twin made his swift way down the trail, his heart dropping dramatically as the strong and overwhelming scent of dead orcs drifted down wind. There had been a battle, that much was clear, and the elf picked up his stride.

Not much farther up the path, he came across the carnage. Dead orcs were everywhere. Their bodies strung grotesquely across the forest floor, black blood mingling with the green bushes and the dirt floor.

Elladan's heart began to pound as he momentarily froze in horror before he abruptly begin to stride through the battle field, almost savagely turning the bodies over in search for his companions. When he found no sign of them, he sat down on a stump with a sigh of great relief, running a hand through his dark locks as a soft smile lifted his lips.

Standing slowly, Elladan took on last, long look around the clearing before turning his back on it and sheathing his sword. He was positive that his brothers could not have gotten far ahead, especially not with an injured Legolas in tow.

Hurrying along through the trees, Elladan couldn't help he feeling that something was wrong, and he decided that he wouldn't rest comfortably until they were all together again.

Hardly ten minutes had passed after Elladan left the clearing when Legolas' hand twitched and his eyelids began to flutter feebly.

TBC...

 **Well, I don't know if you would necessarily classifying that as a cliffhanger... :)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Lord Illyren:** Haha, I am sure that he will! Yup, I bet about now he is thinking 'never again...NEVER AGAIN!" ...They are always back into trouble, always. It never fails. Thanks so much!

 **Rita Orca:** Hahaha! That is terrible. The duck song and math certainly do not mix. They will never mix. :) It is also terrible that FF has been lying to you. Curse FF (but with love). Now I am going to go check up on all the FF that I am following...Oh, thank you so much! I'm thrilled that you think so!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I love reading all your reviews for the last chapter... ;)**

 **Anyway, a little off topic, I am in need of a favor (and I am more than willing to exchange a favor in return). If you are interested, please PM me to learn more! Thank you!**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Eight

Legolas stirred feebly, the first dregs of pain creeping across his senses as if they were slowly lighting on fire. Groaning lightly, the elf lay still for a moment trying to sense anything besides the pain that seemed to slowly be consuming him. The light flutter of something against his face caught his attention and he paused. The something was covering his face, pressing fittingly against his skin when he breathed in and lifting weakly when he exhaled.

Prying his eyes open, Legolas frowned up at the gray spun cloth that was covering him. Reaching his hand up, he touched it, realizing with sudden clarity that the cloth was an elven cloak. Gripping it in his fist, he tugged it off, flinging it away from his face and letting out a low sound of surprise.

He was under a bush! What in Valar's name was he doing under a bush, covered in a cloak?

"Estel!" he called out, the first taste of panic beginning to fill the back of his throat. "Aragorn! Elladan! Elrohir!" His voice was no more than a rasp, but it felt good to hear something in the otherwise deathly silent clearing.

For a moment, he had the brief thought that maybe he was dead. Was not the universal sign of death covering the face? Could not his body have been placed under the bushes to protect it from predators or orcs until his friends could come back to properly care for it. It fit, in a way.

 _Dying could not hurt like this._ Legolas' mind rebuffed. But what could have happened to his friends? Neither Aragorn or the twins would have left him here, wounded as he was. Calling out their names again he waited, almost desperate to hear another sound besides his voice. His leg throbbed incessantly as a minute ticked by and one answered him.

Drawing in a deep breath through gritted teeth, Legolas rolled over, trying to get out from under the branches of the bush. Pain tore through his body, gripping his mind and making his eyes water as his stomach churned. Black spots danced in front of his eyes, but with a cry full of determination and pain, he rolled over again.

When he pried his watering eyes open, he found himself staring up at the top of green trees instead of brown bush twigs. Smiling in spite of his predicament, Legolas turned his head to the side and jerked back violently. There, staring at him, was the head of an orc and it's foul yellow eyes were boring into his own.

The fetid smell of dead and rotting orcs filled the air around him and Legolas' resisted the urge to be sick, his already weak body reacting strongly.

"Aragorn?" he managed to call out. Gripping the sturdiest looking branch he saw, he eased himself into a tilting, sitting position, trying to look around. After his vision had cleared, Legolas felt his stomach drop as got his first glimpse of the true magnitude of the skirmish that had taken place.

Dead orcs littered the ground much like carelessly thrown away trash after a night of partying. Their blood was splattered on the ground and trees like streamers and Legolas' head began to pound as his stomach rolled and he was forced to lean fully against the bush to support his weight. He had an awful feeling that he was the only alive being, the only person to escape this horrible skirmish.

"No," Legolas whispered, the soft word slipping from his lips. "No!" he repeated louder as if raising his voice could make the implications of his thoughts any less true. No longer caring about the pain of his injuries, Legolas forced himself to scramble upright, using the bush for help.

Lurching forward, he stumbled into the nearest trees and pressed up against it, letting it support his weak body. Kicking out sluggishly with this good foot, Legolas toppled a dead orc that was in his way and edged past it. His eyes flickered from body to body, looking for the twin's graceful features or Aragorn's human ones.

Letting go of his trees, he reeled forward until his body was stopped by the next tree and he clutched it. Continuing to move thus through the clearing this way, he circled it once befoe he had to admit defeat. The only thing that he now knew for sure was that his friend's had certainly fought the battle, but then they had vanished, leaving Legolas all alone.

 _Maybe I really am dead..._ Legolas mused as he sank lower against the tree he was currently using for support. Panic was beginning to take hold in his heart, and he didn't understand what was happening. A wistful smile suddenly flashed across his face. _Or maybe this is all a dream, and I will wake up to find Estel persisting to mother-hen me._ The smile faltered and died. Somehow he doubted that was true either.

The realistic options that Legolas had were both limited and terrifying to dwell on. After hiding him under the bushes, his friends could have, first, been killed and dragged off. Second, they could have been defeated and dragged of captive, or third, they could have left him behind.

The elf didn't like either of the first two ideas, and didn't even stop to consider the third, but he had to face the facts. Aragorn and the twins were gone, something had happened.

Legolas' leg buckled under the strain of his weight and he gave in, sinking down to sit awkwardly beside a dead orc.

What was he going to do? He was out here, alone and injured while sons of Elrond were either dead or carried off captive. He couldn't go after the orcs, not when he could hardly walk around the clearing without passing out, and by the time he got to Rivendell to sound the alarming, it would be too late. Sighing with frustration and pain, Legolas leaned his head back.

 _What was he going to do?_

Sighing again, Legolas gritted his teeth. Gingerly, he began to peel back the long strip of bandages tied tightly around his thigh, trying to see how bad the wound was. The pain began to build at the slow movement and the elf winced, unable to stop the shot, sharp gasp. Underneath the linen, his flesh was bright red and swollen. Reaching out, he lightly touched the hot, inflamed, skin, and a had to bite back a cry as pain rocketed through his nerves.

 _Don't touch,_ Legolas reprimanded himself wiry, sliding the bandage carefully pack into place. Taking a deep, shaky, breath, he turned his attention to his other injury, pulling up his tunic. His stomach looked better than the leg did, but if he had to be honest with himself, then he knew he wasn't going to go far in his condition.

Leaning further back against the tree, Legolas glanced over at the dead orc next to him and made a face. He was going to have to make for Rivendell as fast as he was able, to warn the elves and get a search party out for his friends. He would do what he had to, even if it killed him.

Gritting his teeth, Legolas worked his way into a standing position using the tree for support. He kept his left leg elevated, trying to stop the tidal wave of pain that he was sure would come his way once he put his weight back on it.

"Of all the times to go missing, it had to be when I couldn't walk…" Legolas said aloud between his clenched teeth. Sweat was beginning to dot his brow from the effort he was exerting, and he grunted softly as he clutched the tree. Squinting up through the leaves at the distant rays of light, Legolas figured that it was late morning. He had a full days worth of travel ahead of him.

Gathering his courage, Legolas put his foot down. The leg quivered but didn't fold immediately. Letting go of the tree, the prince took his first steps and almost instantly staggered to the side and into a dead orc.

Scrambling back, Legolas exclaimed an elvish curse, hurriedly wiping his now blood spotted hands on his shirt. Taking a calming breath, he paused for a moment. Using the tree once more to leverage himself upright, he took the long way around the clearing, using the trees for support.

The prince traveled this way for some time, going from trunk to trunk and clinging with all he had to the branches. When he reached a carefree brook that was passing through the woods, he allowed himself to sink back to ground with a grateful sigh. If he thought he had been in pain before while back at the clearing, then he had been wrong.

Bending low, Legolas cupped his violently trembling hands under the cool water and brought it to his lips. He had no supplies, no way to carry water or food, so he would have to take advantage of it while he could.

For a while, he rested there, regaining what little strength he could, but all too soon for his aching and pulsating leg, he was clinging his way up the nearest tree.

 _For Aragorn, Elladan, and Elrohir…_ Legolas repeated to himself firmly, the same phrase he had been repeating all that morning, and the image of his friends, held captive and being tortured by orcs speed kicked his resolution.

Slowly, but surely, Legolas made his way towards Rivendell.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Aragorn jumped lightly down a small knoll, balancing the two packs on his back carefully as he did so. His sword bounced lightly against his thigh and he stilled it unconsciously with a single touch. Glancing up at the sun, he estimated the time and then quickened his pace. He would make a good time today, but he could make better. A nagging sense of disquiet was lingering in his chest, and he wanted to find his brothers and Legolas, to assure himself that all was well.

Later that night as he lay curled up on his back, his cloak enfolding him as he attempted to sleep, he could shake the nagging feeling that had been growing all day. Something was wrong, he couldn't shake the thought. Shifting, Aragorn stared up at the starry, ink black sky.

Maybe it was because he, his brothers, and Legolas were spread out and more likely to be attacked. Maybe… maybe he had forgotten something.

 _Like your healing herbs?_ Aragon mocked himself silently, still annoyed that he had left them behind. Shaking his head fervently, he rolled over and pulled a small rock out from behind his back, and tossed it out into the darkness.

When he finally did drift off to sleep, it was troubled and restless, and his dreams were filled with a sense of foreboding that caused him to awake in a panic more than once. A little before dawn, his sleep was once more interrupted, but this time, it was by someone's finger digging into his side.

Letting out a yelp of both pain and surprise, Aragorn jerked upright and rolled defensively to the side, his hand grasping for his sword almost before he had a chance to open his side.

"Easy, Estel." A familiar voice called and Aragorn blinked open his eyes to find Elladan kneeling next to where he had been laying.

"You just about gave me a panic attack!" Aragorn said, clasping back to the earth in relief and closing his eyes.

"Where are Elrohir and Legolas?" Elladan asked, standing and hosting his pack.

"They are ahead, we were stuck in a tight jam so Elrohir took Legolas while I acted as a distraction," Aragorn explained, rolling over and getting up. He stretched loudly before shouldering his pack. He was filling wide awake, despite having gotten very little sleep last night. Elladan, for once, didn't even question him or sujust that they wait until morning, but simply began to usher Aragorn down the path, picking up their pace to a fast walk.

"You feel it too," Aragorn said quietly, and Elladan turned to head to face the ranger, surprise on his face. "The foreboding, the sense that something just isn't right," Aragorn explained further, his hand coming up and touching his chest.

Elladan gave a taunt nod, his face grave.

"Something is wrong, I agree," he said. Heaving a large sigh, he turned back to face the front. "That is why we must hurry and catch up with Elrohir and Legolas. If we are all together, then I, for one, will feel much better."

"Agreed," Aragorn said fervently, picking up his pace as well.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Legolas had finally dropped into an exhausted heap after he couldn't move his body another step. Forcing his hurting, aching, body into a ball, he slipped into a light sleep where he had fallen, to exhausted to do anything else. By midnight, though, he was awakened by the sharp, searing, pain shooting through his wounds, his leg especially. He had overworked the injured limb, and he was feeling it. It was throbbing without mercy and the pain was only continuing to escalate. He trembled violently, his fist clenching and unclenching as his jaw stiffened.

Turning over, he squeezed into a ball and began to rock. Tears were beginning to build unwarranted in his eyes and he clenched them shut, trying desperately to keep them from falling. It was to no avail, and shuddering sobs from the pain he was in began to shake his body. Low, gritted cries of suffering and pain filled the silence of the night

"Please, Eru," Legolas pleaded after more than an hour of suffering. He couldn't take anymore, all he wanted to do was go to sleep, to escape the pain. Gasping air in desperately, Legolas dug his fingers into the soft earth, sweat coating his face, and clenched. For maybe the first time in his life, he wanted something to take the edge off the pain.

Heat was rising across his body, adding to his misery and his stomach suddenly clenched. Rolling over onto his side, the elf lurched upright, his arms shaking uncontrollably. He hung his head, fighting against his body's sudden urge to rid him of the contents of his stomach. His shoulders heaved and he gagged, a vile bile filling the back of his throat. He swallowed quickly, but the acidy taste lingered, burning the back of his mouth. A second later he vomited up what little he did have in his stomach. His body did not calm, and after a brief moment, he violently lurched further forward, a stringy, yellow bile leaving his lips.

The vicious cycle repeated itself until Legolas' could take no more, and dropped weakly back to the ground to lie flat. Rolling his head weakly away from the mess, he ignored the vile smell drifting his way. "Please…" he whispered.

His desperate prayer was answered. After vomiting up what felt like half of his internal organs, Legolas was so exhausted that his eyes began to close of their own free will. Not even the stark pain could keep his awake. Slipping mercifully into sleep, Legolas was lost to the world for a few, precious hours.

The moon cast it silvery light upon his form, and what a sight he made. Tear tracks streaked his dirty, sweat coated skin and vomit trailed from his lips and onto his chin. Streaks of the bile had gotten into the lower strands of his hair, and it was slowly gluing them together as it dried.

All alone, and injured, Legolas created a pitiful picture.

TBc...

 **Oh. Well, being alone isn't going so well for Legolas (as if you thought it would) ;)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Atlantis:** Haha! YES, they surely did! This is why I write cliffhangers. I love watching your guys reactions. :) Thanks so much!

 **Lucy of Vulcan:** Haha, yes, I am cruel. :) And I enjoy it very much! I come back and worked on it, but I don't know if you are any happier with the results. :) Thanks so much!

 **Rita Orca:** Haha, well, I have a lot of siblings and it can get *very loud* so I understand the 'pass the salt' thing. :) Oh, and it is perfectly fine if you don't get around to reviewing. Don't get me wrong, I love every single review that I get, but I also understand that review takes work. Sadly, I myself am a terrible reviewer. :) Oh! Thank you so very much! Th evil side of me was thrilled to hear that you were shouting. :)

 **Guest:** I promise to update every Friday! :) But I am thrilled that you are *hopefully* enjoying the story so far! Thank you!

 **Lord Illyren:** Haha, yes, a rewind button would be nice. :) I bet that they will really wish that they had it


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Dudes...I am very, very, sorry, that I didn't update last Friday. I stayed up super late talking with a friend, and then...well, I was exhausted and trust me, you don't want exhausted me editing. Strange things happen. :) And then I was going to update Saturday, but things happened and before I knew it was Thursday and then here we are... Opps. On the bright side, this isn't a common occurrence. :)**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Nine

Legolas woke as the sun was just starting to change the gray, fluffy, clouds into brilliant shades of pink and gold. Pain coursed steadily up and down his body, and with a groan, he tried to force his body back to the peaceful place he had been. Aragorn would wake him when they ready to go…

His eyes flashed open, staring up at the morning light that drifted down on him with sudden realization. Aragorn wasn't going to wake him, not today, not ever, not if he didn't get to Rivendell.

"Get up," Legolas croaked to himself. He cleared his parched throat and swallowed thickly in disgust as a horrible after-taste filled his mouth. "Come on, get up. They need you." Taking a deep breath, he pulled his aching, stiff body upright. He used a nearby tree to level himself into a sitting position as his head swirled and his body tilted dangerously back towards the ground. Resting against the rough bark as he prepared himself for the next step, which he had no doubt would be harder than the first.

Sensing his distress and despair, the tree had pity on him.

Legolas looked up in surprise and shock as the tree began to quiver lightly, causing a couple of leaves to drift down onto his lap.

"What…what is it, _mellon-nin,_?" Legolas touched the bark gently, searching the trees for some sign of what it wanted. "To the left of me?" the elf twisted gingerly to look at what the tree had directed his attention too.

There, partially covered by fallen leaves and grass, lay a long, slender, branch.

Legolas smiled instantly. A finding like this was invaluable and would become more than useful in his way back to Rivendell.

" _Hannon Le, Hannon le_ ," he thanked the tree as gratitude spilled through his tone. Slowly, Legolas began to edge himself forward, using his hands and upper body to elongate his reach until he was lying flat on the ground once more. His fingers strained to reach the tip of the dark wood, but he was still to far away and he inched forward. Touching the wood with the end of his fingertips, he fumbled, trying to get a real grasp. The wood evaded his fingers, and he hissed in frustration before yanking himself forward. He just managed to grasp the end. Smiling in triumph, he pulled it back towards him. A wide grin stretched his face and he carefully sat back up, the wood clutched tightly in his hands.

It was slim and knotted with bark still covering much of it, but it was strong. Legolas flexed it between his hands, straining it to test it further but it didn't even creak threatening. He couldn't break it, that was good. Even better, however, was that the top half split off into two branches, creating a lopsided u-shape. The perfect tool.

Digging the end of the branch into the ground, Legolas gripped it tightly with both hands and heaved himself upright. For the first time since he had awoken under the bushes, Legolas felt real hope spring into his heart. With this, he might just make it to Rivendell in time to obtain hope for Aragorn, Elladan, and Elrohir. They might still have a chance, and that was all he wanted.

Fixing the handy u-shape under his left arm, Legolas began to walk, placing most of this weight on the crutch. The wood supported him easily, and Legolas almost sang with relief as he took the pressure off his injured leg.

His progress that day was greatly increased by the simple piece of wood, and his heart began to expound. However, both bad and good luck was to be his still to be his before his journey was over.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Aragorn and Elladan caught up with Elrohir after two days of hard traveling.

The two of them were climbing a steep hill, neither talking much, when Elladan froze. Throwing an arm out and hitting the ranger lightly in the chest, he held a finger to his lips.

"Someone is up ahead on the other side," he whispered, "I wouldn't be surprised if it is Elrohir and Legolas, but you never know. We should continue carefully." Aragorn nodded quickly in consent and unwrapped his hand from around the handle of his sword, though he did keep his hand near, just in case. The two moved together side by side, cresting the top of the hill. Up ahead, they caught a flash of movement as someone changed courses abruptly, disappearing into a bunch of trees.

Aragorn motioned that they should continue down the hill and circle around the trees, but to his great shock, Elladan jumped to his feet, letting go of his sword.

"Elrohir!" he called, starting down the hill at a fast pace. Aragorn stood up straight, not doubting that his brother better eyesight was true and felt a lightness flooding through him. They were all back together again and maybe now he would feel better about everything.

Racing down the hill after his brother, Aragorn felt a smile growing as Elrohir came running towards them as well. Legolas wasn't in sight, but Aragorn suspected that Elrohir had left him the trees rather than drag him needlessly around. Elladan and Elrohir meet and almost brought each other down with the force of their hug. Aragorn stopped a few feet back, grinning.

"How's Legolas?" he asked once the twins had broken apart, laughing lightly. Elrohir pulled back and looked back at him, a wide grin on his face.

"What?" he asked, blinking.

"How is Legolas? I actually want to know how you made such good time with him? We had to travel hard to catch up with you."

Elrohir's smile dropped, and for the first time, he scanned the area behind his brothers.

"What do you mean? Isn't he with you?" he reminded pointedly, breaking away from his twin. Aragorn frowned and shook his head. Elladan looked between them, a growing horror entering his eyes.

"He went with you. You took him," Aragorn repeated almost desperately, holding out his hands as if begging Elrohir to start laughing and say this was all some joke.

"No, I didn't," Elrohir said simply. All the color was rapidly draining out of Aragorn's face and he ran both hands distractedly through his hair, causing it to stand on end.

"You said you would take Legolas!" he almost bellowed in fear, his eyes widening. "I told you to take him because you were, oh, Valar!" The full impact of what had happened hit him like a brick to the head and he sank to his knees, reeling. "Oh, Valar, oh Valar, no!" he repeated over and over, his breath coming in short and fast.

"We left Legolas…" Elrohir whispered in a horrified daze, turning slowly and looking back the way they had come. "We left him behind. I-I could have sworn that Estel said he would take him." It was his turn to hold his hands out pleading to the others but Elladan was already shaking his head. He looked as dumbfounded as the other two were acting, but he quick to banish his brother's guilt, for if he knew one thing it was that it hadn't happened on purpose.

"It wasn't your fault, Elrohir," he said sharply, "and neither was it yours, Aragorn." He grabbed Elrohir and shook his lightly, waiting until his blinked and his eyes cleared before turning to Aragorn. "Stop, Estel," he said forcefully, grabbing him by his arm and dragging him upright. Aragorn broke off his chanting staring with obvious distress at his older brothers.

"I left. I left him, I should have doubled checked, or, or something. I left him!"

"Stop it, both of you," Elladan rebuked. His couldn't hide the slight shaking of his voice and he cleared his throat before starting again. "We need to figure out what happened and what we need to do. Sitting around blaming yourselves won't make anything better." Aragorn nodded, stooping to pick up the packs he had dropped. His hands were trembling.

"I'm going back for Legolas," he said bluntly.

"Estel, wait, we need to make a plan," Elrohir said swiftly, moving to block the human's path. Aragorn stopped but didn't look happy about it.

"I need to go find Legolas," he repeated stubbornly. He crossed his arms drumming his fingers nervously.

"All right," Elladan agreed. "At least one of us needs to go back home, though, I think. Horses and medication will make the trip back all that much swifter and comfortable for Legolas. A warning for Ada would help as well."

"I'll go," Elrohir volunteered after a moment of silence. "You are better at healing than I am, anyway. If I take the short cut through the Pass at the river, then I can be there and back within just days rather than a week or more." Elladan's head came around at this, his eyes widening. That was not a path to be taken lightly, many dangerous animals and other things lived there and it was most unwise to travel it alone. Aragorn continued to tap, though it faltered for half a moment as he heard the plan.

After another awkward moment of silence as Elladan looked between his twin and Aragorn, he said, "I think I shall go with Elrohir. You will be fine, won't you, Aragorn?" That was not a choice he had wanted to make for both sides could use the extra hand, but Aragorn knew this lands just as well if not better than they did and after losing Legolas, he wasn't about to let Elrohir wander through danger without someone to watch his back. He looked at his human brother, his eyes pleading for understanding.

"I'll be fine," Aragorn replied immediately, already starting to walk back towards the hill. He nodded at Elladan's direction confidently. "Travel quickly for Legolas' sake, please," he called over his shoulder.

"Be careful, Estel, and don't do anything foolish," Elrohir almost begged, running swiftly back to their younger brother with Elladan right b

Embracing him swiftly, Elladan whispered in his ear, "Remember, this is not your fault. Don't be too hard on yourself." Aragorn nodded slowly, and the twins began to head back down the hill, checking behind them every once in the while, as Aragorn pressed forward in the other direction.

As soon as he had crested the hill, the man began to run, his heart swelling with terror. They had left Legolas alone, unprotected and injured. Who knew what could have happened in the almost _three days_ since he had last seen his friend? The possibilities were endless and the man pushed his legs faster.

Orcs could have come back and killed or captured the prince. Perhaps some other wild creature had taken advantage of the elf's weakness or what if infection set into his wounds and he wandered away in a delirious state and hurt himself further? What if he becomes so lost that Aragorn never found him or never knew what happened to him?

"Stop it. Legolas will be fine," Aragorn assured himself firmly. "He is resourceful and been living in this world much longer than you have." It still didn't help his nerves any.

The man ran through what was left of the day and most of the night, stopping only to rest when he most needed it. He forced himself to sleep late into the night so that he would be somewhat refreshed for another day of running, but the constant image of Legolas alone and dying tortured his mind.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Legolas limped forward, leaning heavily on the crutch for support as he put his weight tentatively down on his bad leg. The limb throbbed agonizingly and the elf gritted his teeth, taking another step. He had spent the last night curled up under a tree, in no better condition than the night before. If anything, he was worse. Sweat lined his brow and his breath came in ragged gasps. A red flush was starting creep across his face, and his limbs were beginning to tremble without his consent.

Stumbling a few steps forward, Legolas crutch caught on something and he almost fell, only catching himself just in time. Deciding it was time for a break, the elf lowered himself gently to the ground, clasping back against a nearby tree in pure exhaustion. Half-heartedly pulling the crutch back towards him, Legolas saw it dislodge what it had caught one and leaned forward, curious by the strange shape. It was a bag, a small, brown bag.

That bag that looked very familiar and Legolas stared in shock, wondering how in the Valar it had ended up here. For it was Aragorn's healing bag or he was an orc... How many times had he seen it the man's hands, ready for use?

Sticking the end of his crutch out, Legolas began to attempt to snag at the bag, trying to get it closer. Once it was within arm's reach, he snatched it up. Pulling the strings open, he inhales the mixture of smells of the dried herbs and smiled. He didn't know how the bag had ended up here, but it was the greatest gift he could have asked for at this moment, a minor miracle he might even say.

 _Thank you, Aragorn_ , he thought silently, praying that the man would live to hear it from his own lips because he knew he wasn't doing well. He hadn't even had enough energy to change his bandages and the once white linen was now stained with dirt and who knew what else. The wounds hadn't been cared for at all and he had the horrible feeling that infection had set in, but hadn't before now dared to stop and check.

Opening the bag of herbs once more, Legolas tried to remember what would most help him. Oh, how he wished he had paid more attention to what the man gave him, instead of always gripping about it. At last selecting a couple of herbs that looked vaguely familiar, Legolas split them in two. One part he ate, and the rest he ripped and pounded into tiny particles. Ever so gently easing his bandages off, Legolas took several deep breaths, biting his lip until he tasted blood to stop the cries of pain. The wounds were obviously worse than they had been before. The skin on his leg was bloated and hotter to the touch than before as puss slowly oozed out, adding a strong and nasty smell to everything else. Gritting his teeth, the elf sprinkled the herbs atop.

He jerked back as the wound started to smart and sting more than before and he clenched at the ground, digging his fingers into the soft dirt and trying to halt to stall the cry that was already being wrenched from his lips. After a few seconds of pain filled torture, the stinging subsided and he gently recovered the wound with the remnants of the dirty bandages. They would simply have to do, he didn't have anything else to bind them with and proceeded to do the same with his other injury. That one didn't look as bad it, at least, wasn't oozing puss, but neither did it look to be healing.

Sighing heavily, Legolas allowed his heavy head to drop back against the tree, closing his eyes. The amount of energy he had just used was catching back up with him. One minute of rest….just one minute was all he wanted…

The warmth of the sunlight had faded, leaving behind the coolness of the twilight and Legolas let his eyes snap open. His eyes slowly traveled the length of the small clearing, his mind numb. What had he done? He had just meant to close his eyes for a few seconds…

Cursing himself loudly, Legolas struggling upright, leaning against his crutch for all that he was worth. He tied the small pouch of herbs to his belt with trembling fingers as he once again cursed himself, before quickly starting off. If he noticed that it was harder than before to keep moving, he didn't acknowledge it.

TBC...

 **Well, things look better than they did the last chapter! Sort of. Legolas is still out there alone, but they are at least aware of the situation. That counts for something. :)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Rita Orca:** Haha, yeah, I laughed to myself when I wrote that part, like, 'if only you knew Legolas, if only you knew... Well, as of yet there has been no orcs, but we still have chapters to go. :) We still have time of more angst! Thank you so much!

 **Atlantis:** I will keep that in mind before I do anything rash. :) But he is better off now, is he not? I guess the story isn't over yet, though... HAHAHA, yes, then I guess the library would not be a good place. That made my day. Thank you so much!

 **Lord Illyren:** Well, I hope that this filled in some of the gaps. :) I always fill in what I think is going to happen in my fics, and hardly eve are they true, and half the time I am slightly disappointed. Hopefully, that isn't the case with this one (though I would understand completely if that was the case). Thank you so much!

 **Guest:** Oh, thank you so much! I really appreciate hearing what you thought about it. :) I try hard to be as accurate with medical procedures as possible, so it is good to hear that the details were at least good! Thank you again for you kind words!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Guys, we are coming up on the end. Well, not yet-yet but too soon. :(**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Ten

As he was plunged into the darkness of night, Legolas staggered ungracefully to the ground next to a fast flowing river that roared on past without a care in the world. Hunching over, he cupped his hands in the icy water, splashing it across his hot, sweaty, face as he shivered lightly. Taking a shuddering breath, he huddled in closer to himself and closed his eyes in absolute misery. The shivering began to increase as he remained motionless and he silently urged himself to get up, to start moving. Or at the very least to dip his hands back into the water so he could drink. He needed water, he needed to stay hydrated... No matter how hard he willed them to move, however, they refused to obey him.

"For Valar's sake!" Legolas cursed in frustration, casting his eyes heavenward. "Get up!" he insisted, waging a mental battle with his fatigued body. His mind won at long last, and with straining, slow, movements, he made it back up to his feet. He clutched the makeshift crutch with everything he had, sweat now positively dripping from his face.

"One step, you can do one step," the elf whispered to himself, his mind flashing back to the twins and Aragorn held captive somewhere. His legs buckled and he began to sink back towards the ground but he stubbornly forced his good leg forward. His weight tipped to the side, and he fell forward on his staff, but it did its job and held him upright.

Taking a steadying breath, the prince forced himself to take one more step. The ground began to dance teasingly in front of his eyes, but he paid it no mind. Closing his eyes, he let the sound of the rushing waters guide him. As long as he stayed near the river, he would be fine. It would guide him to a civilization at some point, and in his condition, he was just going to have to hope that they would help him.

He didn't get much farther that night. Already dangerously close to exhaustion, the wood-elf was only able to follow the river for a few hours before collapsing on the bank. Tonight, the pain did not torment him as he had before, but rather remained a constant throb that was annoying, but durable compared to his utter tiredness. The fever had drained what little strength he had, and the instant his head hit the rocky, pebbled, shore he was asleep.

To the silent observer, it was clear that the few hours of rest the prince was getting him was doing him only a little good. The flush of fever continued to creep across his face and his long hair became plastered to him with sweat. He tossed and turned, low whimpered escaping his lips as his fever rose.

Moaning, Legolas flipped over restlessly, tossing his head from side to side.

"Aragorn…careful. Ara-ESTEL…" he whimpered as his eyes flickered oddly underneath their lids. "Burning…no, cold." The elf continued to talk, crying aloud in his sleep as he shifted his injured body too swiftly.

"No, please…NO!" Legolas shot up abruptly, his already pale face blanching drastically. His stomach churned nauseously and he gave a small groan as his glazed over eyes sought his surroundings, his breaths coming in frantic. It took several minutes for the prince to calm himself down enough to remember what was happening, and when he did, he wished that he hadn't. Nothing that he remembered was good, and he felt his heart drop.

"You must keep going. You cannot stop," Legolas swore to himself, pushing his sweat slicked hair back and bringing his crutch back under his arm. Heaving himself painfully up once more, he limped forward, following the river upstream and to Imladris. Only, when he looked down he found his track from the night before. But that couldn't be right. He was almost positive that he had been moving in the same direction the whole time, but he was also positive that Imladris was upstream. That could only mean...

Legolas felt his stomach revolt and bent over as he dry heaved. He had been going the wrong direction, this whole time, and because of that Aragorn and the twin's chances just dropped to less than zero. A cry of pure despair was wrenched from his lips and he let go of his staff, tumbling to the ground to land on his side. How could he? How could he have let his friends down in such a way? How could he have failed them?

He lay there for who knew how long, anger and despair crashing over him in waves At some point, he forced himself to start moving again. He had to tell Elrond, he had to atone for his mistake. His sons were as good as dead because of him.

He repeated this to himself over and over again until the minutes stretched into hours. Stumbling ever forward, he was hardly able to put on foot in front of the other as he followed the river's course.

By late afternoon, Legolas' body had had enough and the fever induced vision began. His inward grief was now guiding his mind. Legolas left the river, following a figment of his imagination off into the woods.

"Wait, wait for me!" he gasped out as he staggered forward. The pain in his leg was almost forgotten and he unconsciously let his makeshift crutch slip to the ground. Aragorn's faithful mare blinked her pooling, dark, eyes at him, begging him to go with her, silently telling him that she had something to show him

"What is it?" Legolas whispered, trying to catch her halter as she lead him further and further into the forest. In the blink of an eye, the horse was gone. Legolas, who had been depending on the horse to steady him, tumbled forward and hit the ground hard. Rolling back over, he groaned lightly. Blood was starting to slowly seep out from his right nostril, but he didn't notice.

"Where did you go?!" he cried out, wincing as he used a tree to pull himself upright once more. "What happened to you?" his voice trailed off faintly as he gazed around for any clue as to where the horse could have gone. He needed to follow that horse! She would lead him to Aragorn, that much he knew.

Staggering further into the woods, Legolas feverishly looked desperately to find what he was looking for.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Aragorn bent over the river, his gaze focused on the ground as he tried to discern what it was telling him through the quickly fading sunlight. He rubbed his scrubby bread thoughtfully, his eyes darkening.

He had first picked up on Legolas tracks early that morning and had quickly gained on his friend after that. Now he hoped to be only hours behind the elf. This cheered his heart more than he could express in words because it meant that he was alive. It meant that Aragorn hadn't been responsible for his death, at least not yet.

All the day, and the day before as he had run, the gnawing sense of guilt had filled his soul. They had left Legolas, and if the end wasn't to be happy… well, Aragorn didn't want to think about it. All he knew was that once he found his friend he would be down on his knees, begging for forgiveness.

Standing up, Aragorn frowned, his eyes following the uneven, almost pitifully tracks of the elf. They left the river, and disappeared back into the forest, but that could not be right. Legolas knew better than to leave the water, for the river would give him both water and a guide, but here he was doing just that. A sense of dread starting to crawl across Aragorn's mind once more and his stomach clenched with unease. Legolas wasn't well. Something was horribly wrong.

Shifting the packs on his back, Aragorn began to march after the elf in determination. In one hand, he held his sword, just in case, and in the other he held a stick of burning wood he had lighted a while back to guide his way in the ever increasing darkness. He would find his friend; he would fix the mistake that had been made.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

"'Where are you? Where have you gone, my friend?" Legolas called in a coarse tone, swinging around to stare off into the blackness with wide, frightened eyes. "You were _just here_!" he pleaded, closing his eyes and staggering forward. A hulking tree loomed up at out of the night, directly in his face, and the prince cried out, ducking reflexively. When the tree did nothing but stand tall, and he slowly edged around it.

An owl cried out and Legolas jumped, shielding up against the tree. A second owl answered and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard not to panic. When the night remained silent, he tentatively let go and moved forward. His leg dragged almost limply behind him, and he didn't even try and lift it off the ground anymore. The heel of his boot snapped a brittle stick and it cracked like a whip. Crying out once more, Legolas dropped to the ground, rolling into a ball as his feverish mind showed him things that he never wanted to remember.

"No! Please…" Legolas begged the hallucination, panting wildly as he covered his head. The echo of long distance and cruel voices replayed in his mind, seeming so lifelike and real that that Legolas began to frantically scramble back. His body connected roughly with the base of a knotted tree and he clapped both hands over his mouth, stifling his outburst just in time.

"It's not real…" Legolas whispered aloud in a strangely high-pitched voice. It was clear by his wide eyes that he didn't even believe his own words and he flinched, raising an arm to block an imaginary blow that was coming for his head. He gasped raggedly for air, wiping a sleeve across his face to clear the sweat that was building. "'No…"

He lunged forward, attempting to get away, but only feel face first into the dirt. He lay still, letting out a low sob. The ground felt cool against his hot cheek and he closed his eyes wistfully...

Abruptly his awareness vanished and the next thing he knew, he was blinking up at the moon. He did not know if he had slept, or if he had had merely been in some sort of trance but he pushed himself shakily into a sitting position. Shaking his head groggily, he pressed a hand to his brow, trying to stop the earth from spinning out of control. The trees over his head fuzzed together, tilting wildly back and forth.

"STOP!" Legolas shouted, blinking rapidly. This did nothing except make him even dizzier. Scrambling up on his knees, the elf doubled over, clutching at his side. The ground decided to join in the with the merry making of the trees and the prince was forced to squeeze his eyes shut or lose what little was in his stomach. "Just stop..." He had had enough, of both the pain and everything else that was wrong with him at the moment, all he wanted to do was lay down peacefully and die.

"But that would be giving up, and you don't give up," a snide voice from his left stated. Twisting around so fast that he made his head start pounding along with everything else, Legolas gazed with shock at a perfect image of himself. The other Legolas was leaning against a tree, casually swinging one of his twin white knives.

"What—" Legolas gazed up in complete bewilderment.

The other elf cut him off, waving a hand impatiently, "You are imagining me, I am not really here."

"Oh," Legolas said lamely, trying to focus once more on nature as it continued its dizzying waltz, but the fake Legolas was the only thing staying still and the real elf looked at the imaged figure. He could feel his heart pounding frantically against his back and closed his trembling lips tightly.

"You need to find shelter, or go back to the river," the fake Legolas said calmly, jerking the real one free of the daze he had once more been slipping into.

"Too hard…hurts," Legolas murmured, shaking his head slowly. The hallucination laughed, mocking him.

"Too weak! Too weak to live! Too weak to save your friends. To weak to pay for their deaths. Well, you won't survive the night unless you find a way to cool off." Legolas frowned at that. He didn't really want to die, no matter what he had thought before.

"How?" he asked helplessly. The figure leaning against the tree flickered oddly, morphing into a tree and back again.

"Stay awake. Go back the way you came," the figure said calmly, but with an odd sense of urgency, as if knowing that its time was almost up. "Turn around, make for the river. Take—" Legolas blinked and the other Legolas was gone. The real Legolas looked around, his eyes glinting.

He had to leave, he had to fight. He wasn't going to die giving up like a coward. He would stand and laugh in death's face.

Minutes passed as Legolas slowly heaved his body uncooperative body upright and into a hunched, but standing position. Wheezing air in and out, he staggered back the way he had come. He had to reach the river again, he didn't exactly understand why, but he had to do it.

He inched back towards the river, using every fiber in his being to pull himself forward. His tunic began to slowly darken with sweat and a visible v soon formed, but still he kept going. Aragorn needed him to keep going. The twins need him to keep going. He owed them that.

Legolas was so focused on moving forward, that he never noticed the large, gnarled, tree root sticking out of the ground. His good foot caught on the twisted wood and he went down. Hard. To add to his misfortune, he was at the top of a fairly steep downward incline and his fall sent him toppling in a roll down its side.

He landed on the bottom face down and lay utterly motionless. The only sign that he had survived the fall was the uneven, ragged, rise and fall of his shoulders and all too soon, even that stilled. The great prince of Mirkwood was too ill, too exhausted, to force the immense effort it took to breathe deeply.

 _I'm dying_ , Legolas thought simply. Mentally, he attempted to gather the effort needed to stand again, but it was useless. The very air he fought to bring to his lungs was scorching hot, and he felt like he had jumped into Mt. Doom herself. His leg hurt like it was being raked over and over again with sharp claws and his stomach wound faired only slightly better.

 _I don't have long left. I have failed._ Legolas allowed his eyes to slip shut, giving in at last to the embrace of darkness. The voices were back again, ringing in his ears. Or at least, one voice was. It called his name over and over again and Legolas worked up the effort to slit one eye open. _Maybe it is my mother, calling me home…_

A bright light was descending through the darkness towards him and in the bright light, Legolas could just make out a figure. Legolas let out a breath, closing his eyes. A spirit must have returned to take him from his earth and to Mandos halls. Maybe it was his mother, he hoped so. He missed her so much at times…

Legolas slipped into darkness and knew no more.

TBC...

 **Well, it ain't looking too good for Legolas now does it... Well, in my defense, these stories have a life of their own. I am not totally responsible. :)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Guest:** Haha, yes! Worrying for all of them is probably wise. They are, after all, stuck in a world of fangirls who just love to watch them suffer. :) Poor Elrond, he has so many gray hairs now...seriously, the poor dude. Poor everybody! Than you so much! I am thrilled that you are enjoying it!

 **Atlantis:** And I don't think it has gotten any better either. Hmm. Oh well! We will just enjoy it! Thank you so much! I am thrilled that you continue to enjoy it. :)

 **Rita Orca:** Oh, dude, yes, the eldest always gets into rap. Sadly, that is just how it works. My brother calls it being ageist. :) So yes, I understand! And yes, they had really better hurry now. It doesn't look to good for poor Legolas. Not that it ever does, but, hey, where is the fun in a boring safe life? :) Oh, thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to review!

 **Cousin of Spock:** I guess he is in a way going backwards. Or was. It is all for the better, though, because this way we get more angst and we looove out angst. :) I hope it is living up still.:) Thank you so much!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Well, thanks to those of you that mentioned cookies in your reviews...I am now waiting for my cookies to be done as I work on this. :)**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Eleven

Aragorn bent low over the ground, following his friends clumsy tracks with great haste. In one hand, he held a sturdy branch with a u-shaped branch attached. It had been Legolas, he was sure of it, but he was left completely baffled about why the elf had abandoned it.

"Legolas!" he called out with increasing frustration as he held his burning lump of wood aloft to light the ground. He was so close, he could feel it, but Legolas continued to elude him. " _Answer me_ if you can hear me!"

Not to his surprise, there was no answering call.

Calling out once more, Aragorn broke through a tight strangle of trees and saw a steep incline ahead. Legolas would not have been able to make it up that, not in his condition. Turning to the side he began to make his way around it. "Legolas!" he yelled, lifting his torch higher to spread its circle of light.

A strange lump lay just outside of the circle, resting just at the base of the hill, and Aragorn paused. Moving a few feet forward, he strained his eyes.

"Legolas! Oh, Valar, Legolas!" he cried, leaping forward as he realized what the lump was. Legolas was spread-eagle on the ground, his slack face just visible underneath the curtain of his dirty hair. For just a second, he thought he saw Legolas' eyelids flutter open. "Legolas!" he shouted again, crashing to his knees next to the prone figure. He stuck his torch firmly in the ground with one swift, confident, movement, and reached to flip his friend over. He redrew his hands like he had been scolded with hot water, which wasn't far from the truth. Legolas was radiating heat like the steam from a boiling pot of water.

"Legolas, Legolas wake up. Come on," he begged, capturing the prince's face in-between his hands and patting his cheeks. The elf didn't stir, and Aragorn shook him roughly. "Come on, elf!" Pushing his sleeves up, he laid two fingers against the prince's hot, dirt plastered, neck while the other he laid firmly on the hot brow.

"Oh, oh mellon-nin…" Aragorn murmured, his face falling dramatically. The elf's heart was running as if it was in a stampede and his fever had soared right past concerning and right into downright frightening. "You are not dying on me. Not today!"

Quickly, he pulled Legolas flat and began to strip him of his clothing. As he pulled the elf's under tunic off, he stopped short, shocked. There, tied to Legolas' belt, was his bag of herbs. "How in Middle-earth did you come by this, Legolas," he asked the unconscious elf as slipped open the bag. He didn't know what to think, this was the largest unlooked for blessing he had received in a long time. Shifting through the brown bag, he quickly pulled out a vile full of berry red liquid.

"Alright, Legolas, let's see what we can do," he murmured as he squeezed the elf's mouth open and placed several drops under his tongue. Capping the battle once more, he turned his attention to the wounds. Gently he pulled at the filthy bandages wrapped around Legolas' lithe waist, grimacing when he saw what lay underneath. The wound was badly infected, but it was nothing compared to the cauterized wound as he found a few minutes later.

The skin on his leg was bright red and bloated badly. Puss leaked from the many blisters that had formed in the time since he had last seen it and when he touched it, Legolas twitched violently.

"Legolas?" he asked with hope on his face, but the prince didn't move again. Checking his temperature, the man made a face and put the knife he had just pulled out away. Right now, his main goal was to get the fever down, he would take care of the leg as soon as it dropped to a safer range. Sighing in despair, the man yanked his herb bag back open, shifting quickly through its contents for anything at all that might help.

"You can't die today, Legolas," he whispered as he worked, glancing at the elf every few seconds. He began to mix some of his herbs in his flask of water, wishing he had a way to brew a tea, but he just didn't have the time. "You haven't teased me for leaving you behind, yet." He propped the elf's head up just enough so that he could swallow and forced his mixture down the prince's throat. A trickle of it dribbled down the prince's chin, and the man tilted his head back a little further, forcing him to swallow the rest.

Legolas' temperature did not go down, if anything it rose, and the man shook his head impatiently. Grabbing the prince carefully, Aragorn heaved him upright until he was able to drop him over one shoulder. Awkwardly standing, he wrapped one arm around the prince' legs as he snatched his torch up with the other.

They would make for the river. There, he could hopefully bring the elf's temperature down.

Running at a pace he could manage, Aragorn navigated the trees, his heart pounding. If he could just immerse Legolas in those icy-cold waters, preferably before the elf self-combusted…

When he reached the bank of the river nearly an hour later, he didn't even bother to pause as he sprinted into the water with a splash. Immediately dropping to his knees, he braced the elf and lowered him off his shoulder and into the rushing, frigid, waters. The elf disappeared under the surface, but Aragorn didn't let him go. Quickly bringing him to the surface, he once more plunged him under. Only this time he let the elf's head rest on his arm, supporting it just enough so that his mouth and nose remained above water.

They remained that way for a long time until Aragorn legs were tingling and his fingers were long past numb from the cold. Dragging the limp form of the elf back closer to the shore, he collapsed in the mud, shivering violently.

"Legolas?" he asked for what seemed to be the thousandth time that night, but it was without hope. As was expected the prince made no reply. Shaking his head, the man sat up and shoved his hands into his armpits and began to rock back and forth to generate heat. At last, the familiar tingling feeling of life worked its way back into his hands. When he could feel them once more, he reached out and braced Legolas' face. He was cooler, but not cool enough. The fever and infection had a strong hold and wasn't about to let go.

"We will fight this, Legolas," Aragorn vowed through chattering teeth. The sky was beginning to lighten ever so slowly and the clouds began to change color, going from the darkest grays to pale blues and pinks.

Pushing Legolas back out into the water, he remained on the bank and merely held the elf in place. Hard, tiny, pebble dug into his kneecaps, but he didn't feel them as he wrapped an arm under Legolas' neck to cushion it and keep it above water level.

Hours seemed to pass as the minute trickled by, Dawn came and went, yet Aragorn still fought the fever. By the light of day, Legolas appeared worse than ever. His face, now free of the dirt and grime, appeared whiter than fresh snow. This contrasted sharply with his fever-flushed cheeks and puffy red eyelids.

Sighing helplessly, Aragorn gently lowered him completely underneath the water once more.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Legolas drifted in semi-darkness, a strange light piercing his eyelids. Was he dead? He remembered, at least _thinking_ he was going to die. Had it actually happened? When he opened his eyes, was he going to see his mother again? The thought sent a small thrill through his heart, but a second later, it dropped lower than ever. If he was dead, then would never see his father or Aragorn again.

He didn't know what he wanted, to be dead or alive.

 _Well, it isn't exactly like you get an option now, is it?_ He began to work his eyelids, trying to get the incredible heavy lids to lift. Groaning softly, he felt them flutter and bright, morning light hit his face. It was as if a plug had been pulled out. The instant the light touched his eyes, a thousand different sensations hit him. The first and strongest sensation was the overwhelming agony that coursed through his body, but it was closely followed by a wave of intense cold that took his breath away. The third sensation caught him completely off guard and surprised him enough that he almost forgot to react.

Whatever his head had been resting lowered, and the water he could feel lapping around his body became a wave that washed over him. He was completely submerged. As the water closed over his face and cut off his air supply, he remembered to panic. Thrashing his incredibly heavy limbs, Legolas choked, trying to bring himself back to the surface. Almost immediately, however, he was yanked back up out of the water and a voice he knew well was exclaiming his name excitedly. The arms supporting him brought him up into a sitting position and he gazed around, befuddled.

"Why am I sitting in a river?" he asked hoarsely, locking glassy, glazed eyes on Aragorn. There was something nagging at the back of his mind...Aragron shouldn't be here, he didn't know why, but that was what his gut was telling him. The cool air began to nip at his numb skin and he realized that he was shivering violently. The shudders increased in force and he squeezed his fingers tight around Aragorn's forearm. He hadn't even realized that he had grabbed it.

"You are sick, Legolas. You are in the water to bring down your fever." Aragorn scooted closer to the water, shifting his hold on the elf to better be able to support him. Even in his dazed condition, Legolas could sense the relief flowing from the man and frowned.

"I am fine," he stammered out through his teeth were chattering enough to pass for an angry squirrel. Aragorn shook his head.

"You shouldn't feel offended if I don't believe," he stated as he began to lower his friend back into the water.

"No! Estel, it is cold!" Legolas cried out, trying to claw his way back into a sitting position. Couldn't Aragorn understand that his digits were about to be frozen off?

"That is the point, _Mellon-nin._ " He turned a deaf ear to the princes pleas. "Your body is tricking you into thinking you are cold when I fear that you will bring the water to boiling right before my eyes."

"But—"

"Just trust me, and I promise that what I am doing is what is best for you," Aragorn said softly, once again trying to press the elf most of the way under water. Legolas' hair rose up to float atop of the a water, creating a gold sheen. The prince gazed up into his friend's face and nodded, trusting the man completely. Aragorn's gray eyes filled with relief and Legolas looked away, trying to control his intense trembling.

Despite how uncomfortable he was feeling, Legolas once more managed to drift into a troubled sleep. He only awoke when Aragorn was pulling him out of the water. Almost immediately, though, he was drifting back off as the man easily hoisted him into his arms like a child and began to walk.

The next time Legolas returned to his senses, he felt different, better, definitely not as fuzzy thought he couldn't quite connect that dots of how he had gotten _here_ in the first place. The faint crackling of a fire and the singing of birds drifted to his ears and sunlight warmed his face. The smell of smoke was on the breeze.

"Glad to see you awake," Aragorn said just as the elf was about to drift back off and he started, flashing his eyes open. He was laying next to a fire and Aragorn was sitting comfortably next to him, his pipe in one hand. He was wrapped in a light blanket. The dull throb of his wounds remained in the back and Legolas hoped they stayed that way.

"And I am glad not to be sitting in a foot of water," Legolas said thickly, clearing his throat as his voice stuck. His mind was slowly and surely piecing things together and he paused for a moment, letting it catch up. A strange weakness lingered in his limbs, but he pushed it aside for the moment. Aragorn's lips turned up into a grin and he raised his pipe to his lips, only to hurriedly put it back down as he remembers the elf's resentment of his habit.

"How are you feeling?" he asked instead as he reached over, palming Legolas' forehead.

"Better, much better." Legolas struggled to free his hands from the confines of the blanket and pushed the human's hands away. "There is no need to fuse."

"You are still ill," Aragorn contradicted softly, "Just not as ill as before." Something in the human's voice made the elf look up and examine his friend. He wasn't telling him everything.

"Estel, are you alright?" The man wouldn't meet Legolas' eyes and instead clearing his throat, leaning over and poking another stick into the fire. "Aragorn…" Legolas cocked his head to the side and attempted to shove an elbow under his body and boosted himself into a sitting position. Aragorn's firm hand pushing against his chest and the suddenly sharp pain in his body caused him to sink slowly back down, gasping in a deep breath.

"Legolas, you were burning with an intense fever for hours after I found you and all of yesterday we battled a still fairly high fever. You scared me to my wits end…" He started to say something else but trailed off, biting his lip anxiously. "Do you remember what happened and why you were left alone?"

Legolas frowned, thinking before his eyebrows suddenly shot up and he sat bolt upright.

"Orcs, you, the twins…" he exclaimed, his face paling as he clutched at the man's arm. "But how, I don't understand. I thought you were dead. You and the twins were just as good as dead, because I...I" His eyes were wide with disbelief and Aragorn shook his head slowly.

"I think, that you understand a lot less than what you think you do," he said softly, reaching out and freeing Legolas of his death grip on his arm.

"What do you mean? We are not in Imladris! I didn't manage to get there." Legolas agitatedly pulled away from the man, trying once more to sit up.

"Just lay still, and let me explain!" the man said sharply, half rising as he gave Legolas The Look he had picked up from his father. The prince limply gave in, allowing the man to continue. "To make a long story short, at one point we had to drug you…well, senseless. But then orcs attacked, and we had to hide you under some bushes to keep you out of harms way."

He looked at Legolas, who nodded slowly, following the man's words. He was still confused. This still didn't explain the man's unease or why he had woken under that bush all alone.

"Well, through several misunderstandings of who was going where, we…" Aragorn paused, stilling himself from his own guilt, "We, well— you were left behind."

TBC...

 **There, they are back together again. :) You can all cheer. On a slightly less happy note, I am or may not be updating next week. I'm just going to have to play it by ear and see when we get back and how other impacting factors play out...**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Guests:** Haha, yes! *more evil laughter* they should definitely give them up to adoption to us. :) It would be so much fun! Well, for us not so much them. :) Thank you so much!

 **Bellasiel:** The rescue was indeed on the way! I think that they were all very relieved to find each other again. :) Only slightly. Haha, yes, plot bunnies do what they want, and we enjoy that! :) That is one thing that I don't mind not being in control of. Oh, thank you so much for your kind words! it always thrills me to hear that someone enjoyed the chapter!

 **Atlantis:** Aren't you glad that I didn't? I can never quite find it in my heart to do so. :) I mess up their happily ever afters for a few weeks a couple times a year but that is all. :) This time, it isn't near as bad as a cliffie. That is for sure. :) Thanks so much!

 **Elven Princess:** Dude, you are all cool. :) Trust me, I can't judge anyone, because if you so much as review the story twice, you are doing better than I do with reviewing. Seriously, I suck at it, sadly. :(. *I will pass the cookies on...because they all need them! Thanks so much!

 **Lord** **Illyren:** Well, it was a perfectly founded guess. :) Actually, I don't think it made much sense at all for them to separate, but my terrible, terrible, excuse as an author is that people do stupid things sometimes. Thanks so much for taking the time to review!

 **Rita Orca:** Well, you won that bet! Aw, I am so glad that you enjoyed it! Seriously, thank you so much for taking the time each week to review and leave nice things for me to read. It means the world to me. :)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Can we all take a moment to appreciate how on top of things I am today?**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Twelve

"You, wait, what?" Legolas asked in surprise, his eyes widening almost comically. Aragorn winced, suddenly very interesting in the dirt at his feet. To his surprise, Legolas began to laugh, clutching at his wounded middle as he did so.

"Legolas?" Aragorn asked in bewilderment, looking back up to face his friend. The elf only continued to laugh and the man leaned forward in concern, placing the back of his hand against the elf's cheek, worried that his fever had jumped once more. "What in the Valar is wrong with you? This isn't funny!"

"You actually left me behind," Legolas spluttered, moaning lightly in between breaths.

"I don't see what is so funny about it." Aragorn crossed his arm, glaring at the elf. The elf could not possibly know how he had felt when he had learned what had happened. The almost physical anguish, the blinding terror he had gone through... If he had, he would most defiantly not be laughing.

"Oh, come on, it is a little funny." Legolas eased off laughing, stifling a stiff moan as his stomach protested. His eyes squeezed shut and he held his breath. Waiting a moment, he let it out again before sucking another one in. Maybe laughing hadn't been such a great idea. And it really wasn't that funny, but it had seemed that way at the moment. Legolas would just have to blame it on the drugs that Aragorn had no doubt forced into him.

"No, I don't," the human insisted shaking his head. "Legolas, I was so terrified, so scared that you had died on my watch and that it had all been my fault. I cannot describe in words the horror that I felt." He held out his hands in a silent plea for his friend to understand, his face darkening.

Legolas met the future king's eyes easily, his own darkening just a bit.

"Aragorn, did you pause to consider what I thought when I woke up and found myself alone," he said slowly and evenly, all laughter gone from his face. "I knew that you would never be left behind." Legolas quickly added, "on purpose," as he watched the man's face crumble, "and I did know that there had been a battle of sorts. I assumed that you three had lost the battle, and had been dragged off and killed or taken captive.

"Why do you think pushed myself so hard to make it as far as I did? I thought I had to get to Rivendell. So, we were both scared out of our wits for a few days, but it is all fixed now." Legolas paused, catching his breath again. Aragorn still looked crestfallen, like he would never forgive himself. Wincing, Legolas leaned towards him. "Estel, why spend time the darkness of night, when we could be celebrating in the light of day? It is alright."

"You don't understand, Legolas. I left you," Aragorn whispered, closing his eyes and digging the heels of his hands in them.

"So," the elf retorted. Taking advantage of the man's closed eyes he once again attempted to push himself upright with shaky arms. "You came back. There was no real harm done." The man still didn't look up and Legolas resisted a sigh. "It is a little funny, no?"

"No," Aragorn said, but he did look up at the elf which was an improvement. "But what _is_ so funny about it, tell me."

"Well," the elf began, thinking quickly. The laughter from before had been more out of surprise than anything. "it finally happened. One of us left the other behind." Aragorn still didn't seem to get it and raised an eyebrow. The elf sighed dramatically. "If we are in a sticky situation, the injured once usually idiotically demands that the other one leaves them behind, to which the other heroically denies. But this time, it actually happened!"He grinned a little, watching his friend. Aragorn snorted, raising his eyes to heaven and shaking his head.

"Legolas, you astound me. Of all the things…" he trailed off, still shaking his head.

"You'll live life miserably if you can't find humor in anything," Legolas shot back. Shifting slowly he let his eyes close as his face tightened momentarily.

"I laugh when it is appropriate." Aragorn uncrossed his arm and strictly motioned for the elf to lay back down. The prince's words were starting to slur slightly and he could tell that their short conversation had drained the elf's energy. His eyes were gaining a glazed, tired look that he knew all too well. After he had managed to convince Legolas to lay down once more and had fussed over him enough to almost,

After Aragorn had managed to convince Legolas to lay down once more and had fussed over him enough to almost, _almost_ , make Legolas blow a fuse, he fell silent and allowed the still injured Mirkwood elf to drift off into sleep. He was content to simply sit beside the fire with the knowledge that Legolas was safe and beside him.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Legolas was awoken by Aragorn's cold hands pressing something wet and equally cold against his forehead. Shivering once more against the freezing temperature that seemed to envelop him like a blanket, the elf jerked his eyes open. Aragorn's blurry figure shifted in and out of focus as the man moved back to the fire, stirring something.

"Estel?" Legolas asked softly, his voice sounding detestably weak, and Aragorn whipped around. Coming over near the elf, he crouched low.

"How are you feeling?" he asked without preamble, lightly touching on his friend's quivering arms. Before the elf had a chance to answer the frazzled man did so for him. "Never mind, you will just mask the truth. Your fever has risen again, though, so I will simply conclude that you are feeling terrible. Even if you aren't going to admit it."

"Estel, calm down," Legolas said, his voice shaking along with his body. "You're stressing out over nothing. I am fine." He didn't know if that was true or not, but the man looked frazzled.

"Fine, right," Aragorn snorted, patting the wet cloth across his friend's face. "That was the overstatement of the year. I don't like the grip this infection has on you, not at all." Reaching down the man re-soaked the material. Legolas reached out, snagging the cloth of his tunic.

"Aragorn," he said firmly, for even his state he could see the stress lining the man's eyes, "Take a breath and _calm down_." He made a mental note never to be left behind again and let go of the man, relaxing back into the ground. Aragorn had already been wound tighter than then a piece of twine, and this new turn of events wasn't helping matters any.

Aragorn glared at him as if daring the elf to say that he was fine again. "You are obviously well enough to give me grief," he muttered, bringing the cloth back to his face and pressing it lightly up against his brow.

"I can always give you grief, no matter what my condition may be," Legolas smiled warmly at the man even as his shivering increased. He closed his eyes and heard the man snort, but didn't move. He couldn't move...his eyes were too heavy to open.

"I beg to differ." The man fell easily into their bantering as he stood to move back to the fire. How many times had this scene played before, an injured friend and the well one bantering together to lift their spirits as one of them slowly moved towards death? He didn't want to think any further. Legolas would be fine, this was just a minor set back. "It is rather hard for you to do so when you are unconscious half the time."

Legolas chuckled, but it was slurred and when he tried to reply it came out only half formed. Aragorn felt his heart drop.

"Hey, Legolas, look at me." It took a minute for the elf to do so, but that single action released some of the tension flowing through ARagorn's veins. "Don't go back to sleep on me yet, alright." Legolas nodded again. Aragorn busied himself with whatever was in the pot and a minute later he back beside the elf's side.

"Here you go," he murmured softly as he lifted the head elf off the cloak he had folded into the makeshift pillow. Legolas made a face but did as he was told. It was not long after that Legolas once more dropped into a fitful sleep. Aragorn watched him sleep, worry and relief playing for control in his mind.

The next several hours passed, and Aragorn was once again forced to cut into the leg wound and drain the puss and fluid. When that had been done, however, the prince's fever began to drop once more. After it had dropped enough to ease Aragorn's panic, he allowed himself a small break. He stuck his pipe in-between his teeth and light it. Slowly, he breathed out a lungful of smoke and closed his eyes.

Legolas woke again a couple of hours later. He was no longer shaking with cold, he was glad to say and he could tell that his fever had lowered once more.

"You are up again," Aragorn said from across the fire as he glanced over and saw the elf blink his eyes open. He was busy repacking his worn bag and he balanced one of his knives in his right hand, before slipping it into this boot instead of the pack. Legolas hoisted his suddenly heavy body into a mostly upright state and looked around.

"You still have a fever and infection, so please, I'm begging you. Take it easy," Aragorn cautioned, putting down the bag and watching the elf anxiously. Legolas gave the man a faint smile and leaned back, closing his eyes with a tired sigh.

"Oh, you know me. Why on earth would I do something like that?" His smile grew as he heard Aragorn snort and mutter,

"Why would I? Of course, I must be crazy for asking!"

"I swear I will take it easy," Legolas promised after a few minutes and Aragorn smiled broadly.

"Good, because I wasn't going to allow you to move until Elladan and Elrohir came back for us."

"How long do you think that will take?" Legolas questioned, opening his eyes again. His hand dropped down to his wounded middle as he took a breath. Aragorn shrugged, thinking.

"They are more than likely already on their way back if all has gone well. And they will have horses, which will cut their return time down."

"So another two or three days at the least?"

Aragorn smiled at the disgusted look at Legolas face and leaned forward. "We will be staying put, Legolas, I don't care how long it takes." He picked up his pipe off the ground, tapping out the ash and refilling it with dried leaves. The pipe didn't stay out long and he tucked it away as he caught the glare Legolas was laying on the simple object.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Legolas was sleeping yet again when Aragorn first felt the ground beginning to tremble lightly beneath his feet and the sound of faint hoof beats meet his ears. Scrambling to his feet, the man grabbed his sword, which was resting against a tree, and drew it with a satisfying slither. He believed, and hoped, that it was his brothers but he had learned early on in life that caution was advisable at all times.

He held it at his side, ready for use but in a non-threatening gesture, and moved to stand in front of Legolas, blocking him from sight. He waited, calm and confident, for the riders to appear through the trees. The hoof beats increased in volume and his grip subconsciously tightened on his sword. And then the four horses come into view with who could only be the twins on top the two white ones.

Shouting aloud with excitement at seeing them at last Aragorn threw down his sword and began to race towards them, waving a hand. Behind him, Legolas jerked awake abruptly awake, cursing slighlty as he tried to figure out what was going one. Aragorn began to run, still yelling, and his brothers leaped to the ground, meeting him mid-way and embracing him hard enough that the human was sure Legolas could hear his ribs crack.

"Did you find him?" Elladan asked exuberantly, backing up enough to be able to grab Aragorn by the shoulders. Elrohir's eyes clouded over as he held his breath, but the man's ear-splitting grin was said it all. The twins themselves looked a little worse for wear. Elladan had a large cut from his temple to his cheek accompanied by a large bruise and Elrohir was sporting a rather ugly swollen eye himself. Aragorn looked them over, but his excitement was not dulled. They were all alive, even if they had all been through the wringer with this one.

"Yes, yes, he is here!" Aragorn pointed behind him at the elf, who was struggling up onto an elbow, before grabbing Elrohir and enfolded him in his arms. "He is here!"

"Nice for you to drop in," Legolas called weakly. He had one arm wrapped gingerly around his wounded middle, and the effort he was using was causing his face to rapidly lose several shades.

"What? And miss having the first opportunity to tease you about being drugged with—" Elladan started, but a sharp smack upside the head from Aragorn stopped him.

"Don't try and antagonize him. He will more than likely try and fight back with you," he hissed.

"I heard that!" Legolas called, narrowing his eyes at his friend's back. "I am perfectly fine." Aragorn and the twins shared a not so discreet eye roll. Legolas shook his head, snorting softly. His arm was quivering with the effort of holding himself upright and with a pinched expression on his face, he lowered himself back to the blankets that were spread beneath him. He took a slow, measured, breath, and let it out in the same fashion, trying to control his body. The atmosphere around them changed instantly as the three sons of Elrond watched him.

"How is Legolas?" Elladan hedged, crossing his arm as he stared at the prince.

"The leg wound was badly infected when I found him. It is a miracle that he didn't lose that leg. And well, the fever refuses to leave him complete. It keeps getting lower, only to shoot up a few hours later," Aragorn related softly He turned his back to Legolas as so to better talk with the twins. "His stomach wound pains him, I can tell, but he wouldn't admit to it. It was also infected, but no like the leg. What happened to you two, speaking of injuries?"

"Oh, we ran into a few friends along the way." Aragorn raised an eyebrow and Elrohir smiled chillingly. "They didn't enjoy our reunion as much as we did."

"As long as we made it out alive, that is all I care about," Aragorn said to them. Sighing, he briefly wondered if this was how their father felt all the time.

"Anyway…" Elladan mused, rubbing his chin as he and Elrohir walked closer to Legolas. Standing before the ill elf, they study him quickly and critically. If his face was anything to go by, then Legolas was not overly pleased with this, but couldn't do anything about it. Aragorn came over and crouched next to him, keeping a firm hand on his shoulder. "Have you tried some roots of _Hwand_?"

The human shook his head and Elladan turned, whistling for his horse to come. When she did, he began to dig through his bag that was strapped to her side.

"When I found him, his fever was sky high," Aragorn told them softly. He rested the back of his hand momentarily against Legolas' forehead but the elf jerked out from under it with a soft glare aimed in the human's direction. "I thought… I thought for sure that he wasn't going to long for his world." He patted the prince's shoulder and rose to his feet so that he was eye to eye with the twins.

"I guess we are just stuck with him for a little longer after all." Elrohir said aloud, smirking lightly. Legolas groaned, closing his eyes as Elladan laughed. "We will just have to continue taking care of you until you learn to do so yourself." Aragorn snorted out a laugh at that and Legolas let his head thump back against the ground.

"I hate you all sometimes,' he moaned quietly.

TBC...

 **Well, things are going much better for them. :) Only two chapters left!**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Rita Orca:** That is what I figured as well, I never saw him as angry about it, but I did have trouble pinning down exactly what I wanted from him. And the twins are back! We can all celebrate! Thank you so much for both your kind words and how it is informative! Thanks!

 **Lord Illyren:** That, right there, is my one big plot hole. I have known it since day one, yet I have done nothing about it. Maybe I will add something in at the last minute because it is going to bug me otherwise... I'm sure that they are glad too! And know they are *all* back together again! Thank you so much!

 **Atlantis:** Haha, I am glad that you liked it. I wasn't too sure about it being a 'chapter' ending. And the twins are back, and everything is healthy, (or at least not about to drop dead) at least for the moment. :) Thank you so much!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N HAPPY TOLKIEN READING DAY! I hope you found some time to read some Tolkien because you should if you haven't. Not that you have much time, now... oh well. :)**

 **Thank you, Professor Tolkien, for everything!**

 **Discl** **aimer: not mine.**

Chapter Thirteen

"Are you good?" Aragorn asked anxiously as he supported a dangerously swaying Legolas on one side with Elladan on the other. Legolas nodded tightly though his pallid face had turned ashen, and the two secured their grip on him. "Take this at your own pace, we will match you," Aragorn began to instruct, "Lean on us and make us do most of the work. But if you do feel like you are going to pass out or anything, please tell us."

Legolas aimed a glare at them. Blowing out a breath he took a trembling step forward with his good leg. The two supporting him moved along with him, half carrying him so that the prince wouldn't jolt his wound leg as he tried to his move.

"One done, only a couple to go," Elrohir called encouragingly from where he was standing with the horses. He was stuffing a blanket in one of the packs. Legolas ignored the younger twin as well, taking another steadying breath as he clung to his friend's shoulders and stepped again.

Elrohir moved around them, gathering up the blankets that Legolas had been sleeping on for the past few days and stuffing them into the packs as well. The clearing was devoid of any sign that they had ever been there. Smiling with approval for his work, the younger twin hurried past the shuffling trio.

"Are you sure you can ride by yourself?" he called over his shoulder as he attached the last bag to the horse.

"Of course, I can!" Legolas snapped between his fought for and rather shaky breath. A fever flush still marred his otherwise white features and the two holding him upright could feel the slight warmth coming off of him. His fever had greatly lowered but was holding on to the last of its strength. How Legolas had managed to convince that he could ride by himself, they didn't quite know.

Elrohir finished with the packs and walked over to the black horse waiting patiently. Leading her forward, he stopped her next to Legolas. The prince reached out, grasping the silky mane firmly as he nodded at Aragorn and Elladan, conveying that they could let go of him.

"I'm fine," he insisted as all three brothers looked him. Elladan and Aragorn shared a quick look, before nodding. Stepping out for under his arms, Elladan gripped his arm tightly until they were sure that he wasn't going to fall, and then took a respectful step back.

"You do realize that you are never going to be able to mount her yourself, right?" Aragorn couldn't help but ask, nodding his head at the beautiful animal. Legolas leaned heavily against the horse's strong, steadying side and gave the man a long-suffering look.

"I could always try, you know," he jested. Sweat was beading his brow from the short walk over and he dabbed disgustedly at his face with his sleeve. He knew full well that he would never be able to get on the horse's back without help, not with his bad leg. His pride was just as unhappy as his body as.

"Right, that would be amusing to watch," Elladan snorted, swinging atop his own horse with the ease of years of practice.

"Ha, ha," Legolas said dryly. A well-disguised wince was threatening to overcome his features, and he shifted his weight, taking the pressure off his burning leg.

"Just don't take too long trying to undo all our hard work," Elrohir insisted with a straight face, "Ada is at home waiting for us, and I am sure that he is worried."

"We probably should spare him the pain of not knowing if Legolas is dead, alive, or even found yet," Aragorn agreed, still hovering by the prince's side. The elf wavered, just a little, and he carefully planting a supporting hand on his back. In a softer volume, he added, "I worry for you still, _mellon-nin._ It would be best for you to receive care from my father's hand and in the comfort of Imladris."

"Oh, alright," Legolas said after a moment of three pairs of eyes boring into him. Aragorn smiled in relief. Twisting so that he had a better grip on the horse's mane, Legolas watched as the human dropped down to one knee. He made a foothold with his hands and after a sigh, the elf pulled himself up enough so that they could ease his left boot into his hands. Grimacing with the new onslaught of pain his action caused, Legolas flushed with embarrassment, making his already red cheeks darken drastically.

Aragorn glanced up at Legolas once, confirming that he was ready, and then heaved upwards. There was enough force behind the movement to allow Legolas to swing his good leg up and over the animal's back and settle there. His thigh felt like someone had once more pressed a red-hot knife against it, but he was up and he wasn't riding with anybody. To him, the pain was worth it. He was so done being waited on hand and foot. He could do this himself or not move until he could.

"This is going to be an enjoyable ride for you," Aragorn said sarcastically as he steadied the lightly wavering elf. The elf raised an eyebrow as if saying, _Oh, really_. His leg was already throbbing rather painfully and he seriously doubted that it was going to get any better.

Aragorn removed his hand carefully away from the elf once he was sure that he wasn't going to topple over and swung atop his own horse.

The first several hours of the day passed without mishap. As the sun began to start its downward journey, Legolas began to show signs of being beyond exhausted. He stopped speaking to them and his face took on a gray hue. When pressed to stop, however, the prince refused none too nicely.

At last, however, his body made the choice for him as it commissioned a forced shut down. His eyes, which had been dropping and half-lidded, fluttered close and he tilted dangerously to one side. His horse, sensing the unnatural change of balance, let out a loud whinny. She pranced urgently to the side, trying to counter the motion before her master could fall.

Aragorn jerked around at the sound and half leaped out of the saddle in an attempt to grab Legolas. Urging his own horse forward until she was almost brushing Legolas', he leaned forward until he had grabbed the prince's arm tightly. Yanking back hard, he righted him.

"Legolas!" he called, catching the twin's attention and causing them to circle back. They watched as the human awkwardly swung off his horse, still supporting Legolas. After he was sure that Legolas didn't about do a face plant on the ground, he shook him. "Legolas, I need you to answer me!"

The elf shifted, moaning, before going still once more. He was trying...it was just that he couldn't get his eyes to open.

"No, Legolas, I need you to wake up," Aragorn reprimanded gently, shaking him once more. The prince of Mirkwood shifted his head to the side, his eyes blinking open. He gazed with confusion at the man.

"What…what," he whispered. Realizing that he was bent over the horse's neck with Aragorn's fingers digging into his skin to hold him up, he tried to jerk free and straighten. The man wouldn't allow, it, however, holding him in place.

"You fainted and almost made an introduction to the ground with your face," Elladan stated, bringing his horse up along the other side of Legolas' and swinging off.

"What?" Legolas asked again, shaking his head to clear it from the fog that encased his mind.

" 'What?' I thought you were fine." Elrohir also dismounted, coming to stand next to Aragorn. "I think it is a time that we stopped for the night." They had pushed Legolas to his limit, and none of them really wanted to know what would happen if they went past that.

"I'm fine…" Legolas trailed off, knowing the uselessness of protesting. It was clear that he wasn't fine, and trying to uphold the lie now was just foolish. Aragorn only shook his head. Together he and Elrohir grabbed the prince by the arms and eased him off the horse. They both ducked under his arms as soon as he touched down.

"Careful," Aragorn reminded unnecessarily. Legolas shot him a glare even as he let his weight rest on his supporters. His stiff leg was beginning to pulse with a new fiery agony and it was all he could do not to cry out. As it was, he had almost bitten through his lower lip and he knew his grip on his friend's was painfully tight.

More of carrying Legolas between them than walking, Elrohir and Aragorn helped the stubborn elf down next to the nearby tree. Elladan began to set up camp and Elrohir joined him once he was sure that Aragorn had his all taken care off. Before the man left, he let his hand rest against the elf's cheek. The skin was still perhaps a little warmer than normal, but not enough to make him too concerned.

"You sit here and rest," the future king of men ordered in an imitation of his father, whether he knew it or not. The three brothers worked together with ease, and it was long before Elrohir scoffed lightly.

"Look, he is already sound asleep," he muttered, pointing at the prince who was resting against the tree with his head tilted at an awkward angle.

"His leg is going to kill him when he wakes up," Aragorn commented fretfully, "He needs another dose of pain medication."

"You could just wake him," Elladan pointed out. "I am sure that he would go right back to sleep."

"I don't know if he would," Aragorn said hesitantly. "I'm just going to let him sleep, he needs as much as he can get."

Legolas slept like the dead for the rest of the evening. He stirred once as Elladan moved to drape a blanket over him, but that was all. It wasn't until well past midnight that he fully woke.

Aragorn, whose turn it was for a watch, looked around with surprise as Legolas stirred, the blanket falling off his shoulders to pool in his lap. With a small groan, he lifted his head, blinking owlishly into the night. One hand came up, rubbing at his neck as he looked around until he spotted Aragorn staring at him.

"Is the pain bad?" Aragorn asked, nodding at his friend. Legolas sighed, still rubbing at the kink in his neck that came from sleeping in such an angle.

"No, of course not," he muttered sleepily though Aragorn was glad to note the sarcasm instead of outright denial. Shifting, he was unable to hide the wince that marred his features as his body protested sharply.

"I mixed up some medication for when you woke. It will be cold, but that is better nothing." Aragorn scooted closer to the elf, watching him intently as he held out a mug of tea. Legolas was silent, but reached out and took the mug.

A comfortable silence fell among them as Legolas sipped at the drink. The twins had remained asleep, but their soft breathing along with the crackling of the small fire and the chirping of crickets filled the clearing.

Finally, though, Legolas sat up straighter and put his cup down. Looking at Aragorn, he unexpectedly said, "I thought I was dying, that night you found me." Aragorn's eyebrows rose with the admission but he remained silent, only drawing in a puff of smoke from his pipe as he waited for the elf to continue with whatever was one his mind. "I've been close to death many times, but, this time, was different. I was half-crazed with fever when I saw you. I, though…I thought you were my," he paused, taking a steading breath, "my mother, coming to collect me and bring me to Mandos' halls."

Aragorn's fingers tightened around the stem of his pipe, vividly remembering how close they had come to losing Legolas, to having a cold, motionless corpse in the ground instead of the living breathing elf next to him.

"It made me think about death, I mean really dying, not just coming close to it. How do you deal with the knowledge that one day you will simply…cease to exist?" Legolas' face was anxious in the firelight, and he tilted his head to the side, examining the man with his sharp, blue, eyes.

The man still did not talk, a light frown coming upon his a face. How could he explain to Legolas, an immortal being, what he had come to terms with as a mortal? "I guess it is similar to you knowing that one day you will sail," he began at last. "You wonder what the circumstance around it will be, and you might sometimes worry about it, but in the end, it doesn't really scare you." He meet Legolas' eyes easily and was unsurprised when the elf opened his mouth once more.

"But we know what is awaiting us. Humans don't."

Aragorn shrugged, smiling, "If you think that it is an ending, then I beg to differ. It doesn't make any sense for only one race to end while all others continue." He knocked the ash out of the pipe, before jamming it back in-between his teeth. "Besides, sometimes something has to come to a stop momentarily so that it can reach greater heights. Does that make sense?"

Legolas nodded after a long moment, sighing again. The man wasn't sure that he _had_ gotten all the way through to the elf, but figured that with time his words would take the meaning he wanted them too in the elf's mind. Legolas suddenly smiled.

"You would think," he started in a much less serious tone, "that I would have come to an understanding much sooner considering the fact that I risk my life every few days when I am at home. Better late than never, I guess." Aragorn shook his head in an action that carried no small amount of disbelief and amusement. That the elf could find humor in just about everything did not surprise him one bit, but he never ceased to find it amusing in its own way.

"How _are_ things going in Mirkwood?" he asked thickly around the piece of wood. Legolas face darkened and he lowered his eyes, blowing out a long breath.

"Things grow increasingly worse. The orcs and spiders are braver and smarter. They are slowly learning more and more about our strategies and ways." His normally peacefully face was turning to something strange, a mix of hatred, fear, and tiredness.

"I'm sorry, _Mellon-nin,_ " Aragorn said sincerely as he reached out and touched Legolas' arm with a worried expression.

"I'll be alright, Mirkwood will be alright." The elf offered a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "It is just increasingly frustrating and tiring to be fighting a seemingly endless battle. And their numbers only grow just as quickly as ours are reducing. Unless we can cut to their core, their numbers will soon be beyond what we can manage." Legolas forced his smile a little wider before it dropped completely.

On a sudden impulse, Aragorn rocked forward. "I will go back with you, to Mirkwood, when you leave. I have but one sword, but it might do some good."

"You would?" Legolas light up as he smiled, for real this time. "Most people now just try to avoid it by any possible means." His face reflected a sudden sadness, and Aragorn thought he was remembering Greenwood the Great as she should be and had been. "My people are strong, but any extra strength would be most gladly welcomed."

"Then I would just as gladly offer my expertise for a time."

" _Hannon-le,_ " Legolas placed a hand over his heart, sweeping it out in the traditional elvish gesture. Aragorn did likewise, and a comfortable silence descended upon them. Legolas began to nod off once more as his still healing body reminded him off all that it had been through, and Aragorn woke him just long enough to settle him into a more comfortable position. He finished the rest of his watch in silence.

The four friends were up at the crack of dawn the next day, ready to begin the ensuing league of their journey.

To Be Concluded...

 **Review Reply**

 **Lord Illyren:** Dude, to be honest, I hadn't even really thought about that. MY BAD. Seriously, how I could have just made them end up where they were supposed to, that is going to bug me now. I try to keep up with everything...but sometimes...Oh, well. These stories are riddled with mistakes, anyway, but you can't learn sometimes without mistakes! :) Thanks!

 **Atlantis:** Only Legolas... Only Legolas. :) Aragorn loves to fuss, and he is especially good at it. :) I think Legolas has had a lifetime of fussing by now, even for an elf. Oh, thank you so much! It means a lot to me to know what you think is good or bad!

 **Rita Orca:** Life is an excuse I use all the time..so, yeah, we are both in agreement that that is the perfect excuse! Oh, thank you so much! It meant the world to me to know that you thought that it was genuine! :) Haha, I don't know what I would have done...hmm. Thanks again!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N We are at the close... :( Thank you all so much for such an enjoyable ride! Also, sorry for the late update. I was so exhausted last night that I couldn't edit this properly. Actually, I still wasn't overly happy with how this chapter turned out, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer.**

 **Disclaimer: not mine.**

Chapter Fourteen

It took them almost three more days of riding before they reached Imladris. The sun was just beginning to set when they caught sight of the large gates leading inwards to a warm house, good food, and a comfortable bed.

When the gates opened to let the four friends in, they found Elrond waiting on the other side. A relieved expression was clear on his face as he hurried towards them.

"I see you found him alive and at least somewhat well," he said dryly, passing each of his sons and coming to a stop near Legolas. He examined the prince with a critical eye. When he was sure that the prince wasn't about to kill over in the saddle, he directed them towards the steps.

"I feel so loved," Elrohir remarked testily as he leaped off his horse and stood next to his father. "Not so much as a hello."

Elrond turned to face the younger twin, "Hello, Elrohir," he said graciously. Turning back to Legolas, he grabbed his arm and gently helped him slide from his mount. The prince half collapsed into his arms and he supported him until he got his injured leg back underneath himself.

By this time, his sons had all dismounted and were waiting for further directions. Elrond nodded towards the inside and they all started up the steps. Elrond wrapped his arm around the archer's waist and supported him up, giving him such a look that that any protest that he might have had died on his lips.

When they reached the room that had been Legolas' for as long as Aragorn could remember they all crowded in and gathered around the bed that Elrond was easing the prince onto.

"Tunic off," Elrond ordered, already working on the bandages that covered the leg. Legolas did as he was asked , knowing that it would be better than arguing with the much older healer. "Hand me that salve, Elladan." He pointed to a table of medication that he had obviously prepared beforehand, seeing as for once he knew the nature of injuries he was to be dealing with before his patient came stumbling through his door.

The twin did so, and Elrond dipped his fingers in it, spreading the goopy substance thickly over the wound. Legolas face grew taut but he did not pull away. Elrond worked with Legolas for over an hour and until his nimble fingers were rewrapping the wounds in fresh bandages. Legolas' face was paler than before, and his breath was coming in with forced control, but Elrond looked pleased.

"How long did his fever run?" Elrond asked casually as he wiped his hands on a small cloth. He looked first at Aragorn, and then the twins, waiting.

"It broke the evening before yesterday," Aragorn stated, glancing at the twins for affirmation. "It was exceedingly high when I found him."

"I am not surprised to hear so." Elrond leaned in closer to Legolas, lightly laying a hand against his skin to check for himself. "His wound is still infected, if only slightly." Taking pity on the bedraggled elven prince, he stepped back, allowing him to drag a fresh tunic over his shoulders.

"I've sent for some food," Elrond was saying as Legolas dressed, "After you eat, I want all four of you to go to bed as you have all been through a rough couple of days."

"I thought we were too old to be sent to bed like children," Elrohir protested, making a face, "We are adults after all."

"I don't always believe that," Elrond muttered, loud enough for just Legolas to hear. Legolas broke out smiling and stifled his laughter as a cough. The three brothers simultaneously aimed glared at their friend and the elf held up his hands in mock surrender, still smiling.

A loud knock on the door indicated that the food had arrived and the elf Lord and his sons all went to help with the food. Legolas started to rise as well, but Aragorn's sudden dark look and the sharp pain in his body caused him to sink slowly back to the bed.

They feasted together on the food and when they had finished they sat together in lazy silence. Aragorn continued to stare at his pale absentmindedly as Elrond swirled his wine glass thoughtfully. The twins were slouched down in their chairs in such a way that spoke of contentment as Legolas was nodding off with his head tipped sideways against the chair, his weariness and lingering weakness taking hold.

When Elrond saw this, he shook himself out of his own daze and got to his feet. "Bed," he ordered loudly, jerking the younger elves and human back. The twins straightened automatically and Aragorn stretched as Legolas rubbed sleep from his eyes, yawning widely as he did so.

"You three, off to bed you go." Elrond began to stack the plates up as he caught Aragorn following Legolas' example. "I'll stay and help Legolas get settled."

"I'll be fine one my own, _Hir-nin,_ " Legolas stated at once, as expected. They just ignored him. The twins left the room first, bidding them all a good night. Their father stopped them momentarily, drawing each close in a hug that expressed how glad he was to have them safely back home.

Aragorn hesitated before he left, glancing back at Legolas, and Elrond strode towards him.

"Legolas will be fine, Estel," he insisted, leading the man towards the door. Aragorn nodded. He knew that, but his heart hadn't caught gotten over almost losing Legolas after leaving him behind.

"Good night, Legolas," he called over to his friend, who was still sitting in the chair.

"You as well, _Mellon-nin,_ " he replied and then Elrond shepherded the human out and into his own rooms.

"It is good to have you back, I _on_ ," The Lord whispered, hugging the man just as he had the twins.

"It is good to be home," Aragorn said, his eyes lighting up as he looked around his own room. Elrond left, and the man breathed a happy sigh. Everything was exactly how he had left it and how he liked it. Somehow, he doubted he would ever get over the feeling that came with coming home.

The next morning, the first thing that he noticed was that Legolas wasn't in the dining room for breakfast. Upon noting the human's confused look as he scanned the room, Elrond put down his fork.

"I 'sentenced' Legolas to limited activity for the rest of the week and bed rest for today," he explained. "You can go and cheer him up after you eat. I'm afraid that he isn't overly happy with me at the moment."

"I am sure he is not," Aragorn agreed with a shake of his head. "He'll get over it as soon as you 'free' him." Going over to the table, he sat down and began to pull a bowl of fruit over.

"No doubt he will. He usually does, after all." Elrond smiled thinly, buttering his toast. They chatted together for several minutes. When the human was done, he excused himself and headed back up the stairs. He knocked loudly on the door of Legolas' room and waited for the elf's responding,

"Come in!"

Before pulling the door open.

He found Legolas slouched against many pillows, looking rather dissatisfied with his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"You look like happy," Aragorn stated, perching easily on the foot of the bed. Legolas seemed to resist the urge to glare and him, and instead sighed dramatically.

"Your father has deemed it fit that I remain confined to this absurd bed for an unknown amount of time."

"I thought it was just today, and then limited activity." Aragorn frowned slightly, wondering if Elrond has changed his mind since talking with Legolas.

"Oh, that is what Elrond said," Legolas ruefully stated, pushing himself up straighter against the pillows. "But you healers always find excuses to make it longer."

"Well, usually, there is a reason we are forcing you to stay in bed. When you chose to undo all our hard work, of course, we are going to make you stay there longer," Aragorn fired back, grinning as Legolas huffed at him. "The time will fly, I am sure. I mean, you will have me to entertain you, after all." Aragorn smirked, trying to get the elf to smile. Legolas did, throwing a pillow at his friend's head.

"I'll probably be ready to kill you if I have to endure _that,_ " Legolas teased, smirking a little himself as Aragorn recovered from the hit.

"Ha,ha,ha," Aragorn said dryly, tossing the pillow back at the prince.

"Oh, you don't want to start that," Legolas grinned, raising the pillow threateningly. He never missed, and it was unwise to engage him in such a battle as a pillow fight.

"I might, but because I am a responsible adult, I won't," Aragorn joked, leaning back on his elbows.

"That wasn't funny because you _are_ a responsible person," Legolas stated with an eye roll as he slouched back.

"Sometimes I break into my childish side." The human smiled back at the elf and rolled over onto his stomach at the end of the bed.

"You can do that. Sometimes." Legolas lightly kicked Aragorn with his good foot, causing the human to groan dramatically and roll further away so that he was out of distance of Legolas' jabbing foot.

"Come, I challenge you to a game of dice," he suggested instead, pulling a pair out of his pocket.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

It was a week later that Elrond set Legolas 'free' though he did restrict him to using a cane. Aragorn and the twins mocked the elf relentlessly, but he took with good humor, pulling his blackmail cards when he deemed it needed. Needless to say, none of Elrond's sons were happy with this and soon learned to keep the teasing to a minimum. By the end of the month, Legolas had managed to somehow 'lose' the cane, but Elrond did not press the matter. When Aragorn announced that he was going back to Mirkwood with Legolas, Elrond did not press the matter, though it was clear the he wanted him to stay home for a little longer.

"Be careful and try to be safe. Also, please attempt not to drive King Thranduil up the wall," was all he said. Thranduil had come far with Aragorn, but the human still managed to confuse and sometimes frustrate the old being.

The elf and the ranger left less than a week later.

"They will be alright," Elladan assured his father as they and Elrohir watched the gates swing shut behind their brother and friend.

"They look after each other," Elrohir added, slumping casually against the steps. "When they are not busy getting themselves out of trouble, that is," he muttered.

"Of course, they do. It does it ease my heart, some. Estel will always have a confident in Legolas." Elrond tapped Elrohir's shoulder, causing the younger elf to straighten to a more dignified posture. "I would expect the same from the man I raised."

From across the wall, Elrond thought he heard Estel's laugh and looked up at the same time as the twins did, scanning the sky.

"I really, really, hope Legolas is not telling Estel _that_ story about us. I may have gone too far in teasing him the other day and he said he might," Elrohir said in a mildly worried tone.

"And if he did, wait. What time are talking about?" Elladan asked, turning a bemused expression on his brother.

"You know, _that_ time."

"No, I don't. Which time?" Elladan continued to look confused and Elrond raised an eyebrow. Elrohir sighed, washing a hand over his face.

"We really need to come up with code words so that we can talk clearly in front of other people," he lamented, his voice muffled by his hands.

"Is this something that I need to know about?" Elrond asked, turning to look at each son in turn.

"No, Ada!" they both replied simultaneously, their suddenly loud voices making a bird take flight from a nearby apple tree. Elrond shook his head, turning to walk back up the steps. From behind him, he caught the sound of Elrohir whispering something to his twin and twisted back around in time to see the older twins eyes widen dramatically.

"Oh! _That_ time!" he was saying in a loud whisper. "If Legolas tells him that, then I _will_ kill him. Estel will never let us hear the end of it!"

Elrond turned back around, shaking his head once more as he mounted the steps. Oh, how he loved his boys.

NOWANDFORALWAYS

Legolas leaned over, grinning enthusiastically at Aragorn, who was laughing hard enough to look slightly demented.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" he sniggered, and the elf laughed with him.

"Oh, that is nothing! One time…" Legolas began with happiness sparklingly in his clear, blue eyes.

To an outsider, they were just two friends off on some unknown, but great, adventure. One that only the best of friends could have.

And that is what they were; now and for always.

THE END

 **Well, everyone survived and it ended happily. :) Now, I know some of you might be wondering if there is another story to come...**

 **Yes, there is, but I am not as on top of the game as I wish. Therefore, there will be a slight delay of a few to several weeks before I am able to get out the next one. :) At this point, all I can promise you is Legolas and Aragorn will be involved with some sort of h/c or angst to go along with it. :)**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Rita Orca:** A story is in the works! I hope to have it up in a few weeks, but cross your fingers all the same. Sometimes I misjudge things like this. I can, however, promise pain! I don't think I can write something that doesn't involve some sort of pain. Thank you so much, for your kind words and for taking the time to read and review! :)

 **Atlantis:** Elrond scenes delivered. :) I love Elrond, he is one of my all time favorite Tolkien characters, so there is usually a good bet that he will at least make an appearance. I'm so glad you liked that! I love to end my stories with a them going off together, it just seems like them. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review! :)

 **Lord Illyren:** I'm glad! And yes, it is almost very amusing. Stupid, stubborn, Legolas. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review!


End file.
